Sample records for estimating relative nutrient

Nutrient uptake in streams is often quantified by determining nutrient uptake length. However, current methods for measuring nutrient uptake length are often impractical, expensive, or demonstrably incorrect. We have developed a new method to estimate ambient nutrient uptake lengths using field experiments involving several levels of nutrient addition. Data analysis involves plotting nutrient addition uptake lengths versus added concentration and extrapolating to the negative ambient concentration. This method is relatively easy, inexpensive, and based on sound theoretical development. It is more accurate than the commonly used method involving a single nutrient addition. The utility of the method is supported by field studies directly comparing our new method with isotopic tracer methods for determining uptake lengths of phosphorus, ammonium, and nitrate. Our method also provides parameters for comparing potential nutrient limitation among streams.

Around the Gulf of Mexico, high-input crops in several regions make a significant contribution to nutrient loading of small to medium estuaries and to the near-shore Gulf. Some crops cultivated near the coast include sorghum in Texas, rice in Texas and Louisiana, sugarcane in Florida and Louisiana, citrus orchards in Florida, pecan orchards in Mississippi and Alabama, and heavy sod and ornamental production around Mobile and Tampa Bay. In addition to crops, management of timberlands in proximity to the coasts also plays a role in nutrient loading. In the summer of 2008, a feasibility project is planned to explore the use of NASA data to enhance the spatial and temporal resolution of near-coast nutrient source information available to the coastal community. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the viability of nutrient source information products applicable to small to medium watersheds surrounding the Gulf of Mexico. Conceptually, these products are intended to complement estuarine nutrient monitoring.

Around the Gulf of Mexico, high-input crops in several regions make a significant contribution to nutrient loading of small to medium estuaries and to the near-shore Gulf. Some crops cultivated near the coast include sorghum in Texas, rice in Texas and Louisiana, sugarcane in Florida and Louisiana, citrus orchards in Florida, pecan orchards in Mississippi and Alabama, and heavy sod and ornamental production around Mobile and Tampa Bay. In addition to crops, management of timberlands in proximity to the coasts also plays a role in nutrient loading. In the summer of 2008, a feasibility project is planned to explore the use of NASA data to enhance the spatial and temporal resolution of near-coast nutrient source information available to the coastal community. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the viability of nutrient source information products applicable to small to medium watersheds surrounding the Gulf of Mexico. Conceptually, these products are intended to complement estuarine nutrient monitoring.

Ten replicates of two littermate gilts were used during a 21-d lactation in order to calculate relationships between milk nutrient intake and piglet growth rate and composition of gain. Gilts were fed 14.2 or 10.4 Mcal ME/d and litter size was standardized to 9 or 10 piglets. Piglets had no access to creep feed. Milk production was measured on 10 sucklings over 12 h on d 1, 5, 9, 13, 17 and 21 by the weigh-suckle-weigh method. Heat production of the piglets was measured (RQ method) on the same days in a confinement chamber. Milk composition was determined on the days following milk production measurements. Four to ten piglets/litter were slaughtered at weaning and their body composition was determined. Milk nutrient production during part of lactation was related closely to piglet weight gain and body weight (R2 = .80 to .96). Milk DM, energy and N output over the entire lactation were predicted from piglet ADG (R2 = .87 to .90) when, for each litter, the difference between energy in piglet daily weight gain measured by the slaughter technique and energy in piglet daily weight gain estimated by the RQ method was included in the model. This variable corrects for milk production measurement errors. The relationships were slightly improved, especially for energy output, when the composition of piglet weight gain was taken into account (R2 = .93 to .97). PMID:2613581

This report investigates the use of precision management techniques for measuring soil conductivity on feedlot surfaces to estimatenutrient value for crop production. An electromagnetic induction soil conductivity meter was used to collect apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) from feedlot p...

Postfire nutrient release into ecosystem via plant ash is critical to the understanding of fire impacts on the environment. Factors determining a postfire nutrient budget are prefire nutrient content in the combustible biomass, burn temperature, and the amount of combustible biomass. Our objective was to quantitatively describe the relationships between nutrient losses (or concentrations in ash) and burning temperature in laboratory controlled combustion and to further predict nutrient losses in field fire by applying predictive models established based on laboratory data. The percentage losses of total nitrogen (TN), total carbon (TC), and material mass showed a significant linear correlation with a slope close to 1, indicating that TN or TC loss occurred predominantly through volatilization during combustion. Data obtained in laboratory experiments suggest that the losses of TN, TC, as well as the ratio of ash total phosphorus (TP) concentration to leaf TP concentration have strong relationships with burning temperature and these relationships can be quantitatively described by nonlinear equations. The potential use of these nonlinear models relatingnutrient loss (or concentration) to temperature in predicting nutrient concentrations in field ash appear to be promising. During a prescribed fire in the northern Everglades, 73.1% of TP was estimated to be retained in ash while 26.9% was lost to the atmosphere, agreeing well with the distribution of TP during previously reported wild fires. The use of predictive models would greatly reduce the cost associated with measuring field ash nutrient concentrations. PMID:19643746

Insufficient data exist for accurate estimation of global nutrient supplies. Commonly used global datasets contain key weaknesses: 1) data with global coverage, such as the FAO food balance sheets, lack specific information about many individual foods and no information on micronutrient supplies nor heterogeneity among subnational populations, while 2) household surveys provide a closer approximation of consumption, but are often not nationally representative, do not commonly capture many foods consumed outside of the home, and only provide adequate information for a few select populations. Here, we attempt to improve upon these datasets by constructing a new model—the Global Expanded Nutrient Supply (GENuS) model—to estimatenutrient availabilities for 23 individual nutrients across 225 food categories for thirty-four age-sex groups in nearly all countries. Furthermore, the model provides historical trends in dietary nutritional supplies at the national level using data from 1961–2011. We determine supplies of edible food by expanding the food balance sheet data using FAO production and trade data to increase food supply estimates from 98 to 221 food groups, and then estimate the proportion of major cereals being processed to flours to increase to 225. Next, we estimate intake among twenty-six demographic groups (ages 20+, both sexes) in each country by using data taken from the Global Dietary Database, which uses nationally representative surveys to relate national averages of food consumption to individual age and sex-groups; for children and adolescents where GDD data does not yet exist, average calorie-adjusted amounts are assumed. Finally, we match food supplies with nutrient densities from regional food composition tables to estimatenutrient supplies, running Monte Carlo simulations to find the range of potential nutrient supplies provided by the diet. To validate our new method, we compare the GENuS estimates of nutrient supplies against independent

Insufficient data exist for accurate estimation of global nutrient supplies. Commonly used global datasets contain key weaknesses: 1) data with global coverage, such as the FAO food balance sheets, lack specific information about many individual foods and no information on micronutrient supplies nor heterogeneity among subnational populations, while 2) household surveys provide a closer approximation of consumption, but are often not nationally representative, do not commonly capture many foods consumed outside of the home, and only provide adequate information for a few select populations. Here, we attempt to improve upon these datasets by constructing a new model--the Global Expanded Nutrient Supply (GENuS) model--to estimatenutrient availabilities for 23 individual nutrients across 225 food categories for thirty-four age-sex groups in nearly all countries. Furthermore, the model provides historical trends in dietary nutritional supplies at the national level using data from 1961-2011. We determine supplies of edible food by expanding the food balance sheet data using FAO production and trade data to increase food supply estimates from 98 to 221 food groups, and then estimate the proportion of major cereals being processed to flours to increase to 225. Next, we estimate intake among twenty-six demographic groups (ages 20+, both sexes) in each country by using data taken from the Global Dietary Database, which uses nationally representative surveys to relate national averages of food consumption to individual age and sex-groups; for children and adolescents where GDD data does not yet exist, average calorie-adjusted amounts are assumed. Finally, we match food supplies with nutrient densities from regional food composition tables to estimatenutrient supplies, running Monte Carlo simulations to find the range of potential nutrient supplies provided by the diet. To validate our new method, we compare the GENuS estimates of nutrient supplies against independent

A major source of nutrient load to periodically hypoxic Manila Bay is the urban nutrient waste water flow from humans and industries to surface water. In Manila alone, the population density is as high as 19,137 people/km2. A model based on a global point source model by Morée et al. (2013) was used to estimate the contribution of the population to nitrogen and phosphorus emissions which was then used in a water transport model to estimate the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loads to Manila Bay. Seven scenarios for 2050 were tested, with varying degrees and amounts for extent of sewage treatment, and population growth rates were also included. In scenario 1, the sewage connection and treatment remains the same as 2010; in scenario 2, sewage connection is improved but the treatment is the same; in scenario 3, the sewage connection as well as treatment is improved (70% tertiary); and in scenario 4, a more realistic situation of 70% primary treatment achieved with 100% connection to pipes is tested. Scenarios 5, 6, and 7 have the same parameters as 1, 2, and 3 respectively, but with the population growth rate per province reduced to half of what was used in 1, 2, and 3. In all scenarios, a significant increase in N and P loads was observed (varying from 27% to 469% relative to 2010 values). This was found even in scenario 3 where 70% of the waste water undergoes tertiary treatment which removes 80% N and 90% P. However, the lowest increase in N and P load into the bay was achieved in scenarios 5 to 7 where population growth rate is reduced to half of 2010 values. The results suggest that aside from improving sewage treatment, the continued increase of the human population in Manila at current growth rates will be an important determinant of N and P load into Manila Bay.

Anthropogenic loadings of nutrients into our Nation's atmosphere, aquatic, and terrestrial ecosystems have increased dramatically within the past few decades. Environmental impairments associated with this over fertilization include aquatic habitat loss due to low dissolved oxyge...

Stream-loading information was compiled from federal, state, and local agencies, and selected universities as part of an effort to develop regional SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models to help describe the distribution, sources, and transport of nutrients in streams throughout much of the United States. After screening, 2,739 sites, sampled by 73 agencies, were identified as having suitable data for calculating long-term mean annual nutrient loads required for SPARROW model calibration. These sites had a wide range in nutrient concentrations, loads, and yields, and environmental characteristics in their basins. An analysis of the accuracy in load estimatesrelative to site attributes indicated that accuracy in loads improve with increases in the number of observations, the proportion of uncensored data, and the variability in flow on observation days, whereas accuracy declines with increases in the root mean square error of the water-quality model, the flow-bias ratio, the number of days between samples, the variability in daily streamflow for the prediction period, and if the load estimate has been detrended. Based on compiled data, all areas of the country had recent declines in the number of sites with sufficient water-quality data to compute accurate annual loads and support regional modeling analyses. These declines were caused by decreases in the number of sites being sampled and data not being entered in readily accessible databases. PMID:22457576

Abstract Stream-loading information was compiled from federal, state, and local agencies, and selected universities as part of an effort to develop regional SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models to help describe the distribution, sources, and transport of nutrients in streams throughout much of the United States. After screening, 2,739 sites, sampled by 73 agencies, were identified as having suitable data for calculating long-term mean annual nutrient loads required for SPARROW model calibration. These sites had a wide range in nutrient concentrations, loads, and yields, and environmental characteristics in their basins. An analysis of the accuracy in load estimatesrelative to site attributes indicated that accuracy in loads improve with increases in the number of observations, the proportion of uncensored data, and the variability in flow on observation days, whereas accuracy declines with increases in the root mean square error of the water-quality model, the flow-bias ratio, the number of days between samples, the variability in daily streamflow for the prediction period, and if the load estimate has been detrended. Based on compiled data, all areas of the country had recent declines in the number of sites with sufficient water-quality data to compute accurate annual loads and support regional modeling analyses. These declines were caused by decreases in the number of sites being sampled and data not being entered in readily accessible databases. PMID:22457576

Nutrient input to the Laurentian Great Lakes continues to cause problems with eutrophication. To reduce the extent and severity of these problems, target nutrient loads were established and Total Maximum Daily Loads are being developed for many tributaries. Without detailed loading information it is difficult to determine if the targets are being met and how to prioritize rehabilitation efforts. To help address these issues, SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models were developed for estimating loads and sources of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) from the United States (U.S.) portion of the Great Lakes, Upper Mississippi, Ohio, and Red River Basins. Results indicated that recent U.S. loadings to Lakes Michigan and Ontario are similar to those in the 1980s, whereas loadings to Lakes Superior, Huron, and Erie decreased. Highest loads were from tributaries with the largest watersheds, whereas highest yields were from areas with intense agriculture and large point sources of nutrients. Tributaries were ranked based on their relative loads and yields to each lake. Input from agricultural areas was a significant source of nutrients, contributing ∼33-44% of the P and ∼33-58% of the N, except for areas around Superior with little agriculture. Point sources were also significant, contributing ∼14-44% of the P and 13-34% of the N. Watersheds around Lake Erie contributed nutrients at the highest rate (similar to intensively farmed areas in the Midwest) because they have the largest nutrient inputs and highest delivery ratio. PMID:22457580

We calibrated SPARROW (Spatially Referenced Regression on Watershed Attributes) surface water-quality models using measurements of total nitrogen and total phosphorus from 37 sites in the 13,900-km2 Waikato River Basin, the largest watershed on the North Island of New Zealand. This first application of SPARROW outside of the United States included watersheds representative of a wide range of natural and cultural conditions and water-resources data that were well suited for calibrating and validating the models. We applied the spatially distributed model to a drainage network of nearly 5000 stream reaches and 75 lakes and reservoirs to empirically estimate the rates of nutrient delivery (and their levels of uncertainty) from point and diffuse sources to streams, lakes, and watershed outlets. The resulting models displayed relatively small errors; predictions of stream yield (kg ha-1 yr-1) were typically within 30% or less of the observed values at the monitoring sites. There was strong evidence of the accuracy of the model estimates of nutrient sources and the natural rates of nutrient attenuation in surface waters. Estimated loss rates for streams, lakes, and reservoirs agreed closely with experimental measurements and empirical models from New Zealand, North America, and Europe as well as with previous U.S. SPARROW models. The results indicate that the SPARROW modeling technique provides a reliable method for relating experimental data and observations from small catchments to the transport of nutrients in the surface waters of large river basins.

The contents of available nutrients in pig slurries are not easy to quantify in situ without laboratory facilities, but chemical analyses using standard laboratory methods also take time and are costly and not practical for most farms. Thus, when animal slurries are applied to land, their fertiliser potential is often unknown. In addition, in the last years, the changes in the management of industrial piggeries has changed the nature of the pig slurries vg. decrease of the dry matter content, and consequently the methods and equations used for estimating the nutrient contents in these residues must be checked. In our study, slurry samples were collected from the storage tanks of 36 commercial farms in Southeast Spain. Samples were analysed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), redox potential (RP), specific density (D), total solids (TS), sedimentable solids (SS), biological oxygen demand (BOD(5)), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TKN), ammonium nitrogen (AN), organic nitrogen (ON), and total contents of phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Relationships between major nutrient levels of pig slurries and a range of physical and chemical properties were investigated. We also analysed the variability of pig slurries according to the production stage. TKN, AN and K were closely related to EC. The P content in slurries was related more closely to solids-derived parameters such as D. The use of multiple properties to estimatenutrient contents in pig slurries, especially for AN and K, seemed unnecessary due to the limited improvement achieved with an additional property. Therefore, electrical conductivity seemed to be the most appropriate single, easily determined parameter for estimation of total and ammonium nitrogen and potassium in pig slurries, with more than 83% of the variance explained. P seemed to be the worst key nutrient for estimation using any easily determined parameter. PMID:16009306

Stream-loading information was compiled from federal, state, and local agencies, and selected universities as part of an effort to develop regional SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models to help describe the distribution, sources, and transport of nutrients in streams throughout much of the United States. After screening, 2,739 sites, sampled by 73 agencies, were identified as having suitable data for calculating long-term mean annual nutrient loads required for SPARROW model calibration. These sites had a wide range in nutrient concentrations, loads, and yields, and environmental characteristics in their basins. An analysis of the accuracy in load estimatesrelative to site attributes indicated that accuracy in loads improve with increases in the number of observations, the proportion of uncensored data, and the variability in flow on observation days, whereas accuracy declines with increases in the root mean square error of the water-quality model, the flow-bias ratio, the number of days between samples, the variability in daily streamflow for the prediction period, and if the load estimate has been detrended. Based on compiled data, all areas of the country had recent declines in the number of sites with sufficient water-quality data to compute accurate annual loads and support regional modeling analyses. These declines were caused by decreases in the number of sites being sampled and data not being entered in readily accessible databases. ?? 2011 American Water Resources Association. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Misreporting of dietary intake affects the validity of data collected and conclusions drawn in studies exploring diet and health outcomes. One consequence of misreporting is biological implausibility. Little is known regarding how accounting for biological implausibility of reported intake affects nutrient intake estimates in Hispanics, a rapidly growing demographic in the United States. Our study explores the effect of accounting for plausibility on nutrient intake estimates in a sample of Mexican-American women in northern California in 2008. Nutrient intakes are compared with Dietary Reference Intake recommendations, and intakes of Mexican-American women in a national survey are presented as a reference. Eighty-two women provided three 24-hour recalls. Reported energy intakes were classified as biologically plausible or implausible using the reported energy intakes to total energy expenditure cutoff of <0.76 or >1.24, with low-active physical activity levels used to estimate total energy expenditure. Differences in the means of nutrient intakes between implausible (n=36) and plausible (n=46) reporters of energy intake were examined by bivariate linear regression. Estimated energy, protein, cholesterol, dietary fiber, and vitamin E intakes were significantly higher in plausible reporters than implausible. There was a significant difference between the proportions of plausible vs implausible reporters meeting recommendations for several nutrients, with a larger proportion of plausible reporters meeting recommendations. Further research related to misreporting in Hispanic populations is warranted to explore the causes and effects of misreporting in studies measuring dietary intake, as well as actions to be taken to prevent or account for this issue. PMID:25132121

Misreporting of dietary intake affects the validity of data collected and conclusions drawn in studies exploring diet and health outcomes. One consequence of misreporting is biological implausibility. Little is known regarding how accounting for biological implausibility of reported intake affects nutrient intake estimates in Hispanics, a rapidly growing demographic in the United States. Our study explores the effect of accounting for plausibility on nutrient intake estimates in a sample of Mexican-American women in northern California in 2008. Nutrient intakes are compared with Dietary Reference Intake recommendations, and intakes of Mexican-American women in a national survey are presented as a reference. Eighty-two women provided three 24-hour recalls. Reported energy intakes were classified as biologically plausible or implausible using the reported energy intakes to total energy expenditure cutoff of <0.76 or >1.24, with low-active physical activity levels used to estimate total energy expenditure. Differences in the means of nutrient intakes between implausible (n=36) and plausible (n=46) reporters of energy intake were examined by bivariate linear regression. Estimated energy, protein, cholesterol, dietary fiber, and vitamin E intakes were significantly higher in plausible reporters than implausible. There was a significant difference between the proportions of plausible vs implausible reporters meeting recommendations for several nutrients, with a larger proportion of plausible reporters meeting recommendations. Further research related to misreporting in Hispanic populations is warranted to explore the causes and effects of misreporting in studies measuring dietary intake, as well as actions to be taken to prevent or account for this issue. PMID:25132121

Although coastal eutrophication is generally recognised as a recent phenomenon related to the well-documented increase in riverine nutrient delivery during the last 30 or 40 years, a few historical records paradoxically show that, in some places like the Southern Bight of the North Sea, or the Northern Adriatic, algal proliferation as intense as presently observed was already regularly occurring at the end of the 19th century. Estimated riverine nutrient loads from diffuse sources or from domestic point sources of waste water at that time are too low to account for these observations. We attempted a retrospective evaluation of the possible contribution of industrial activity to nutrient river loading. The figures indicate that, by the end of the last century, large scale use of traditional processes in textile and paper industries, in tanneries, candles factories and others was responsible for a dominant part of the nutrient load carried by rivers in Western Europe and could have caused nutrient inputs to coastal zones similar to the present ones. PMID:10635589

Digital data sets were compiled by the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) and used as input for a collection of Spatially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes for the Chesapeake Bay region. These regressions relate streamwater loads to nutrient sources and the factors that affect the transport of these nutrients throughout the watershed. A digital segmented network based on watershed boundaries serves as the primary foundation for spatially referencing total nitrogen and total phosphorus source and land-surface characteristic data sets within a Geographic Information System. Digital data sets of atmospheric wet deposition of nitrate, point-source discharge locations, land cover, and agricultural sources such as fertilizer and manure were created and compiled from numerous sources and represent nitrogen and phosphorus inputs. Some land-surface characteristics representing factors that affect the transport of nutrients include land use, land cover, average annual precipitation and temperature, slope, and soil permeability. Nutrient input and land-surface characteristic data sets merged with the segmented watershed network provide the spatial detail by watershed segment required by the models. Nutrient stream loads were estimated for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, nitrate/nitrite, amonium, phosphate, and total suspended soilds at as many as 109 sites within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The total nitrogen and total phosphorus load estimates are the dependent variables for the regressions and were used for model calibration. Other nutrient-load estimates may be used for calibration in future applications of the models.

Agriculture related pollution has attracted the attention of policy makers as well as scientists in China as its contribution to water impairment has increased, and quantitative information at the national and regional levels is being sought to support decision making. However, traditional approaches are either time-consuming, expensive (e.g. national surveys) or oversimplified and crude (e.g. coefficient methods). Therefore, this study proposed an extended substance flow analysis (SFA) framework to estimatenutrient releases from agricultural and rural activities in China by depicting the nutrient flows in Chinese agro-ecosystems. The six-step process proposed herein includes: (a) system definition; (b) model development; (c) database development; (d) model validation; (e) results interpretation; and (f) uncertainty analysis. The developed Eubolism (Elementary Unit based nutrient Balance mOdeLIng in agro-ecoSysteM) model combined a nutrient balance module with an emission inventory module to quantify the nutrient flows in the agro-ecosystem. The model was validated and then applied to estimate the total agricultural nutrient loads, identify the contribution of different agricultural and rural activities and different land use types to the total loads, and analyze the spatial pattern of agricultural nutrient emissions in China. These results could provide an entire picture of agricultural pollution at the national level and be used to support policy making. Furthermore, uncertainties associated with the structure of the elementary units, spatial resolution, and inputs/parameters were also analyzed to evaluate the robustness of the model results. PMID:20691463

Digital data sets compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey were used as input for a collection of Spatially Referenced Regressions On Watershed (SPARROW) attributes for the Chesapeake Bay region including parts of Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. These regressions use a nonlinear statistical approach to relatenutrient sources and land-surface characteristics to nutrient loads of streams throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. A digital segmented-watershed network serves as the primary framework for spatially referencing nutrient-source and land-surface characteristic data within a geographic information system. Flow direction and flow accumulation generated from a 30-meter cell-size Digital Elevation Model and attributes from 1:500,000-scale stream data were used to generate stream and watershed networks. Spatial data sets representing nutrient inputs of total nitrogen and total phosphorus from the early 1990's were created and compiled from numerous sources. Data include atmospheric deposition, septic systems, point-source locations, land use, land cover, and agricultural sources such as commercial fertilizer and manure. Some land-surface characteristic data sets representing factors that affect the transport of nutrients also were compiled. Data sets include land use, land cover, average-annual precipitation and temperature, slope, hydrogeomorphic regions, and soil permeability. Nutrient-input and land-surface characteristic data sets merged with the segmented-watershed network provide the spatial detail by watershed segment required by SPARROW. Stream-nutrient load estimates for 132 sampling sites representing the early 1990's (103 for total nitrogen and 121 for total phosphorus) serve as the dependent variables for the regressions. These estimates were used to calibrate models of total nitrogen and total phosphorus depicting 1992 land-surface conditions. Examples of model predictions consist of

Nutrient enhanced phytoplankton production is a cause of degraded estuarine water quality. Yet, relationships between watershed nutrient loads and the spatial and temporal scales of phytoplankton blooms and subsequent water quality impairments remain unquantified for most systems. This is partially due to a lack of observations. In many systems, satellite remote sensing of water quality variables may be used to supplement limited field observations and improve understanding of linkages to nutrients. Here, we present the results from a field and satellite ocean color study that quantitatively links nutrients to variations in estuarine water quality endpoints. The study was conducted in Pensacola Bay, Florida, an estuary in the northern Gulf of Mexico that is impacted by watershed nutrients. We developed new empirical band ratio algorithms to retrieve phytoplankton biomass as chlorophyll a (chla), colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), and suspended particulate matter (SPM) from the MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS). MERIS had suitable spatial resolution (300-m) for the scale of Pensacola Bay (area = 370 km2, mean depth = 3.4 m) and a spectral band centered at wavelength 709 nm that was used to minimize the effect of organic matter on chla retrieval. The algorithms were applied to daily MERIS remote sensing reflectance (level 2) data acquired from 2003 to 2011 to calculate nine-year time-series of mean monthly chla, CDOM, and SPM concentrations. The MERIS derived time-series were then analyzed for statistical relations with time-series of mean monthly river discharge and river loads of nitrogen, phosphorus, dissolved organic carbon, and SPM. Regression analyses revealed significant relationships between river loads and MERIS water quality variables. The simple regression models provide quantitative predictions about how much chla, CDOM, and SPM concentrations in Pensacola Bay will increase with increased river loading, which is necessary information

In view of the wide range of estimates for the total primary production for the Southern Ocean south of the Subantarctic Front—current estimates range from 1.2 to 3.5 Gtonne C year -1—we have examined two indirect methods for assessing primary production. First, we have estimated the primary production needed to sustain the carbon requirements of the endotherm top predators in the ecosystem. Estimation of the carbon requirements for crabeater seals of about 7 Mtonne C year -1 is extrapolated to a value for all endotherm predators of 15-30 Mtonne C year -1. Current data indicate that 70-80% of the diet of this suite of predators is zooplankton (predominantly the euphausiid krill), making for highly efficient transfer from primary production to top predators. Our best estimate of Southern Ocean primary production by this method is of the order of 1.7 Gtonne C year -1, or an averaged areal primary production of about 30-40 g C m -2 year -1. Our second approach is to estimate primary production from the drawdown of inorganic nutrients, based on the limited suite of studies from which an annual nutrient deficit can be calculated. Again, this indicates annual primary production of the order of 1.5 Gtonne. Although both methods have inherent uncertainties, taken together they provide a relatively robust constraint on annual primary production. For both methods to underestimate primary production by the 1-1.5 Gtonne C implied by the higher current estimates, carbon export from the Southern Ocean pelagic ecosystem would need to be much higher than is normally found in other oceans.

Excessive nutrient [phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N)] input from point and nonpoint sources is frequently associated with degraded water quality in streams and rivers. Point-source discharges of nutrients are fairly constant and are controlled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. To reduce inputs from nonpoint sources, agricultural performance standards and regulations for croplands and livestock operations are being proposed by various States. In addition, the USEPA is establishing regionally based nutrient criteria that can be refined by each State to determine whether actions are needed to improve water quality. More confidence in the environmental benefits of the proposed performance standards and nutrient criteria would be possible with improved understanding of the biotic responses to a range of nutrient concentrations in different environmental settings. To achieve this general goal, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources collected data from 282 streams and rivers throughout Wisconsin during 2001 through 2003 to: (1) describe how nutrient concentrations and biotic-community structure differ throughout the State, (2) determine which environmental characteristics are most strongly related to the distribution of nutrient concentrations and biotic-community structure, (3) determine reference conditions for water quality and biotic indices for streams and rivers in the State, (4) determine how the biotic communities in streams and rivers in different areas of the State respond to differences in nutrient concentrations, (5) determine the best regionalization scheme to describe the patterns in reference conditions and the corresponding responses in water quality and the biotic communities (primarily for smaller streams), and (6) develop algorithms to estimatenutrient concentrations in streams and rivers from a combination of biotic indices. The ultimate goal of

Nutrients and suspended sediments in streams and large rivers are two major issues facing state and federal agencies. Accurate estimates of nutrient and sediment loads are needed to assess a variety of important water-quality issues including total maximum daily loads, aquatic ec...

The transport of sediment and nutrients from land application areas is an environmental concern. New methods are needed for estimating soil and nutrient concentrations of runoff from cropland areas on which manure is applied. Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) trained with a Backpropagation (BP) algor...

Land use, land cover, and water-quality data were used in a statistical model to help determine the distribution and relative importance of nutrient sources to Chesapeake Bay. Nutrient enrichment, one of the more serious issues facing the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, can be attributed directly or indirectly to the varying land uses within the 64,000-square-mile watershed that covers parts of Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Potential contributions of nutrients from agricultural sources can be estimated by using State and county agricultural census information, but this data typically lacks spatial detail. The use of such census data in conjunction with digital land-use imagery, however, can improve the spatial detail required to evaluate nutrient sources at larger scales. Several digital data sets that represent the spatial variability of land uses and their potential for nutrient contributions to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries have been generated. Estimates of nitrogen and phosphorus loading for manure and commercial fertilizer sources based on county statistics and agricultural application rates were used with digital land-use and land-cover data derived from satellite imagery to further distribute the estimatednutrient loading within agricultural areas. Septic systems, urban runoff, atmospheric deposition, and other point and nonpoint sources are also represented by spatial data sets. Utilizing the spatial detail provided by these data sets, the U.S. Geological Survey has developed a set of spatially referenced regression models that statistically relate water-quality measurements to nutrient sources. Referred to as SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes (SPARROW), these models produce detailed estimates of the relative importance of each nutrient source and their spatial variability within the watershed. These estimates provide resource managers with a spatial tool that

Excessive nutrient (phosphorus and nitrogen) loss from watersheds is frequently associated with degraded water quality in streams. To reduce this loss, agricultural performance standards and regulations for croplands and livestock operations are being proposed by various States. In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is establishing regionally based nutrient criteria that can be refined by each State to determine whether actions are needed to improve a stream's water quality. More confidence in the environmental benefits of the proposed performance standards and nutrient criteria will be possible with a better understanding of the biotic responses to a range of nutrient concentrations in different environmental settings. The U.S. Geological Survey and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources collected data from 240 wadeable streams throughout Wisconsin to: 1) describe how nutrient concentrations and biotic-community structure vary throughout the State; 2) determine which environmental characteristics are most strongly related to the distribution of nutrient concentrations; 3) determine reference water-quality and biotic conditions for different areas of the State; 4) determine how the biotic community of streams in different areas of the State respond to changes in nutrient concentrations; 5) determine the best regionalization scheme to describe the patterns in reference conditions and the responses in water quality and the biotic community; and 6) develop new indices to estimatenutrient concentrations in streams from a combination of biotic indices. The ultimate goal of this study is to provide the information needed to guide the development of regionally based nutrient criteria for Wisconsin streams. For total nitrogen (N) and suspended chlorophyll (SCHL) concentrations and water clarity, regional variability in reference conditions and in the responses in water quality to changes in land use are best described by subdividing wadeable streams

The overarching goal of our project was to relate algal biomass in the coastal zone of the Great Lakes, nutrient concentrations, watershed land use, and storm events. Algal biomass was determined using MODIS and Landsat remote sensing images. Nutrient loading from rivers into coastal zones was estimated with watershed land use, soils, geology, size and precipitation records. Our models of chlorophyll a based on remote sensing images (RS inferred chl a) and nutrient loading in coastal zones were validated with measured chlorophyll concentrations in the Great Lakes and nutrients in rivers. RS-inferred chl a was related to nutrient loading from rivers, which was dependent upon recent storm events and land use in watersheds. RS-inferred chl a was more related to nutrient loads during the week preceeding measurement of chl a than other periods before or during chl measurement. This lag time is presumably related to algal growth following nutrient loading, and was non-linearly related to nutrient loading. Our results indicate that these tools will improve understanding of land use effects on algal blooms in coastal zones of the Great Lakes and will help identify priority watersheds for restoration.

Nutrient input data for fertilizer use, livestock manure, and atmospheric deposition from various sources were estimated and allocated to counties in the conterminous United States for the years 1982 through 2001. These nationally consistent nutrient input data are needed by the National Water-Quality Assessment Program for investigations of stream- and ground-water quality. For nitrogen, the largest source was farm fertilizer; for phosphorus, the largest sources were farm fertilizer and livestock manure. Nutrient inputs from fertilizer use in nonfarm areas, while locally important, were an order of magnitude smaller than inputs from other sources. Nutrient inputs from all sources increased between 1987 and 1997, but the relative proportions of nutrients from each source were constant. Farm-fertilizer inputs were highest in the upper Midwest, along eastern coastal areas, and in irrigated areas of the West. Nonfarm-fertilizer use was similar in major metropolitan areas throughout the Nation, but was more extensive in the more populated Eastern and Central States and in California. Areas of greater manure inputs were located throughout the South-central and Southeastern States and in scattered areas of the West. Nitrogen deposition from the atmosphere generally increased from west to east and is related to the location of major sources and the effects of precipitation and prevailing winds. These nutrient-loading data at the county level are expected to be the fundamental basis for national and regional assessments of water quality for the National Water-Quality Assessment Program and other large-scale programs.

The hydrometer method to measure manure specific gravity and subsequently relate it to manure nutrient contents was examined in this study. It was found that this method might be improved in estimation accuracy if only manure from a single growth stage of pigs was used (e.g., nursery pig manure used here). The total solids (TS) content of the test manure was well correlated with the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in the manure, with highly significant correlation coefficients of 0.9944 and 0.9873, respectively. Also observed were good linear correlations between the TN and TP contents and the manure specific gravity (correlation coefficients: 0.9836 and 0.9843, respectively). These correlations were much better than those reported by past researchers, in which lumped data for pigs at different growing stages were used. It may therefore be inferred that developing different linear equations for pigs at different ages should improve the accuracy in manure nutrientestimation using a hydrometer. Also, the error of using the hydrometer method to estimate manure TN and TP was found to increase, from +/- 10% to +/- 50%, with the decrease in TN (from 700 ppm to 100 ppm) and TP (from 130 ppm to 30 ppm) concentrations in the manure. The estimation errors for TN and TP may be larger than 50% if the total solids content is below 0.5%. In addition, the rapid settling of solids has long been considered characteristic of swine manure; however, in this study, the solids settling property appeared to be quite poor for nursery pig manure in that no conspicuous settling occurred after the manure was left statically for 5 hours. This information has not been reported elsewhere in the literature and may need further research to verify. PMID:12716054

Nutrient enhanced phytoplankton production is a cause of degraded estuarine water quality. Yet, relationships between watershed nutrient loads and the spatial and temporal scales of phytoplankton blooms and subsequent water quality impairments remain unquantified for most systems...

Variation in water depth and soil properties associated with geomorphic structures can affect riverine wetland nutrient dynamics by altering biogeochemical processes. We examined the seasonal influence of soils and geomorphology on nutrient forms and concentrations in riverine we...

Changing climate and a growing population are increasing pressures on the world's water bodies. Maintaining food security has resulted in changes in agricultural practices, leading to adverse impacts on water quality. To address this problem robust evidence is needed to determine which on-farm mitigation strategies are likely to be most effective in reducing pollutant impacts. The introduction of in-situ quasi-continuous monitoring of water quality provides the means to improve the characterisation of pollutant behaviour and gain new and more robust understanding of hydrological and biogeochemical flux behaviours in catchments. Here we analyse a suite of high temporal resolution data sets generated from in-situ sensor networks within an uncertainty framework to provide robust estimates of nutrient fluxes from catchments impacted by intensive agricultural production practices. Previous research into nutrient flux estimation has focused on assessing the uncertainty associated with the use of different load models to interpolate or extrapolate nutrient data where daily or sub-daily discharge data are generally available and used with lower resolution nutrient concentrations. In such studies examples of datasets where paired discharge and nutrient concentrations are available are used as a benchmark of 'truth' against which the other data models or sample resolutions are tested. This work illustrates that even given high temporal-resolution paired datasets, where no load model is necessary, there will still be significant uncertainties and therefore demonstrates the importance of analysing such data within an uncertainty framework to obtain robust estimates of catchment nutrient loads. This study uses 15-minute resolution paired velocity and stage height data, in order to calculate river discharge, along with high temporal resolution (15 or 30 minute) nutrient data from four field sites collected as part of the Hampshire Avon Demonstration Test Catchment project

Since marine derived nutrients (MDN) are transported not only in river channels but also across the entire river basin, including via ground water and migratory animals, it is necessary to investigate the contribution of MDN to the forest floor (soils) in order to quantify the true role of MDN at the river ecosystem scale. This study investigated the contribution of pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and chum salmon (O. keta) to total oceanic nitrogen (TN) input across a river basin using stable isotope analysis (SIA) of nitrogen (δ15N). The contribution of TN entering the river basin by salmon was 23.8 % relative to the total amount of TN exported from the river basin, providing a first estimate of MDN export for a river basin. The contribution of nitrogen from the ocean to the river basin soils was between 22.9 and 23.8 %. Furthermore, SIA showed that the transport of oceanic TN by sea eagles (Haliaeetus spp.) was greater than that by bears (Ursus arctos), which had previously been that bears are thought to be the major animal transporter of nutrients in the northern part of Japan.

Nutrient enrichment has led to excessive algal growth in Kabetogama Lake, Voyageurs National Park, northern Minnesota. Water- and sediment-quality data were collected during 2008-09 to assess internal and external nutrient loading. Data collection was focused in Kabetogama Lake and its inflows, the area of greatest concern for eutrophication among the lakes of Voyageurs National Park. Nutrient and algal data were used to determine trophic status and were evaluated in relation to changes in Kabetogama Lake water levels following changes to dam operation starting in 2000. Analyses were used to estimate external nutrient loading at inflows and assess the potential contribution of internal phosphorus loading. Kabetogama Lake often was mixed vertically, except for a few occasionally stratified areas, including Lost Bay in the northeastern part of Kabetogama Lake. Stratification, combined with larger bottom-water nutrient concentrations, larger sediment phosphorus concentrations, and estimated phosphorus release rates from sediment cores indicate that Lost Bay may be one of several areas that may be contributing substantially to internal loading. Internal loading is a concern because nutrients may cause excessive algal growth including potentially toxic cyanobacteria. The cyanobacterial hepatotoxin, microcystin, was detected in 7 of 14 cyanobacterial bloom samples, with total concentrations exceeding 1.0 microgram per liter, the World Health Organization's guideline for finished drinking water for the congener, microcystin-LR. Comparisons of the results of this study to previous studies indicate that chlorophyll-a concentrations and trophic state indices have improved since 2000, when the rules governing dam operation changed. However, total-phosphorus concentrations have not changed significantly since 2000.

This report describes an approach for estimating annual total nitrogen and total phosphorus loads from point-source dischargers in the southeastern United States. Nutrient load estimates for 2002 were used in the calibration and application of a regional nutrient model, referred to as the SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes) watershed model. Loads from dischargers permitted under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System were calculated using data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Permit Compliance System database and individual state databases. Site information from both state and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency databases, including latitude and longitude and monitored effluent data, was compiled into a project database. For sites with a complete effluent-monitoring record, effluent-flow and nutrient-concentration data were used to develop estimates of annual point-source nitrogen and phosphorus loads. When flow data were available but nutrient-concentration data were missing or incomplete, typical pollutant-concentration values of total nitrogen and total phosphorus were used to estimate load. In developing typical pollutant-concentration values, the major factors assumed to influence wastewater nutrient-concentration variability were the size of the discharger (the amount of flow), the season during which discharge occurred, and the Standard Industrial Classification code of the discharger. One insight gained from this study is that in order to gain access to flow, concentration, and location data, close communication and collaboration are required with the agencies that collect and manage the data. In addition, the accuracy and usefulness of the load estimates depend on the willingness of the states and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to provide guidance and review for at least a subset of the load estimates that may be problematic.

Stream metabolism was measured in 33 streams across a gradient of nutrient concentrations in four agricultural areas of the USA to determine the relative influence of nutrient concentrations and habitat on primary production (GPP) and respiration (CR-24). In conjunction with the stream metabolism estimates, water quality and algal biomass samples were collected, as was an assessment of habitat in the sampling reach. When data for all study areas were combined, there were no statistically significant relations between gross primary production or community respiration and any of the independent variables. However, significant regression models were developed for three study areas for GPP (r 2 = 0.79-0.91) and CR-24 (r 2 = 0.76-0.77). Various forms of nutrients (total phosphorus and area-weighted total nitrogen loading) were significant for predicting GPP in two study areas, with habitat variables important in seven significant models. Important physical variables included light availability, precipitation, basin area, and in-stream habitat cover. Both benthic and seston chlorophyll were not found to be important explanatory variables in any of the models; however, benthic ash-free dry weight was important in two models for GPP. ?? 2009 The Author(s).

Abstract Nutrient input to the Laurentian Great Lakes continues to cause problems with eutrophication. To reduce the extent and severity of these problems, target nutrient loads were established and Total Maximum Daily Loads are being developed for many tributaries. Without detailed loading information it is difficult to determine if the targets are being met and how to prioritize rehabilitation efforts. To help address these issues, SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models were developed for estimating loads and sources of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) from the United States (U.S.) portion of the Great Lakes, Upper Mississippi, Ohio, and Red River Basins. Results indicated that recent U.S. loadings to Lakes Michigan and Ontario are similar to those in the 1980s, whereas loadings to Lakes Superior, Huron, and Erie decreased. Highest loads were from tributaries with the largest watersheds, whereas highest yields were from areas with intense agriculture and large point sources of nutrients. Tributaries were ranked based on their relative loads and yields to each lake. Input from agricultural areas was a significant source of nutrients, contributing ∼33-44% of the P and ∼33-58% of the N, except for areas around Superior with little agriculture. Point sources were also significant, contributing ∼14-44% of the P and 13-34% of the N. Watersheds around Lake Erie contributed nutrients at the highest rate (similar to intensively farmed areas in the Midwest) because they have the largest nutrient inputs and highest delivery ratio. PMID:22457580

Nutrient loading of aquatic ecosystems results in more food for benthic macrofaunal communities but also increases the risk of hypoxia, resulting in a reduction or complete loss of benthic biomass. This study investigates the interaction between eutrophication, hypoxia and benthic biomass with emphasis on the balance between gains and loss of benthic biomass due to changes in nutrient loadings. A physiological fauna model with 5 functional groups was linked to a 3D coupled hydrodynamic-ecological Baltic Sea model. Model results revealed that benthic biomass increased between 0 and 700% after re-oxygenating bottom waters. Nutrient reduction scenarios indicated improved oxygen concentrations in bottom waters and decreased sedimentation of organic matter up to 40% after a nutrient load reduction following the Baltic Sea Action Plan. The lower food supply to benthos reduced the macrofaunal biomass up to 35% especially in areas not currently affected by hypoxia, whereas benthic biomass increased up to 200% in areas affected by eutrophication-induced hypoxia. The expected changes in benthic biomass resulting from nutrient load reductions and subsequent reduced hypoxia may not only increase the food supply for benthivorous fish, but also significantly affect the biogeochemical functioning of the ecosystem.

There is increasing evidence that the inputs of nutrients to the Bohai Sea are closely related to submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). In this study, the naturally occurring isotope of radon (222Rn) was used as a tracer to assess SGD in eastern Laizhou Bay. The 222Rn concentration during a tidal period was measured continuously and a mass balance model that included atmospheric loss, tidal effects, mixing loss, diffusion from sediments, and SGD was established. The model budget indicated that 222Rn flux attributed to SGD accounted for 58.3% of the total tracer input to the study area. The time-series of 222Rn revealed that the SGD flux ranged from 6.64 to 7.21 cm d-1, with an average of 6.93 cm d-1, in September 2014. The estimated SGD flux is reasonable compared with those previously estimated in other studies by direct measurement methods, hydrogeological simulation and geochemical tracers. This result, as well as the current understanding of nutrients dissolved in groundwater, confirms the importance of SGD in delivering nutrients to Laizhou Bay and possible impact on marine ecological environment.

Adequate intake of fruits and vegetables as part of the daily diet may help prevent major diseases. Low fruit intake is a major risk factor for cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke. The World Health Organization recommends eating at least five portions of a variety of fruit, which is nearly 400 g/day. Essential nutrients, water, carbohydrates, oils and vitamins are needed in appropriate quantities in order to have a well-functioning body. In this study we try to carry out a food composition study to identify and determine the chemical nature of the organic and inorganic macro-nutrient and micro-nutrient properties of the main fruit types that affect human nature, by a biplot graphical approach. The biplot can be considered as multivariate equivalents of scatter plots that have been used for graphically analyzing bivariate data. Biplot approaches show a simultaneous display of fruits and nutrient components in low dimensions. In the present study, the theory of biplot and different types of biplot will be given and than an application of the biplot approach will be applied to the real data. PMID:19235615

Total nitrogen (TN), which consists of total particulate nitrogen (TPN) and total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), is transported with not only in river channels but also across the entire river basin, including via ground water and migratory animals. In general, TPN export from an entire river basin to the ocean is larger than TDN in a mountainous region. Since marine derived nutrients (MDN) are hypothesized to be mainly transported as suspended matters from the ground surface, it is necessary to investigate the contribution of MDN to the forest floor (soils) in order to quantify the true role of MDN at the river ecosystem scale. This study investigated TN export from an entire river basin, and also we estimated the contribution of pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and chum salmon (O. keta) to total oceanic nitrogen input across a river basin. The maximum potential contribution of TN entering the river basin by salmon was found to be 23.8 % relative to the total amount of TN exported from the river basin. The contribution of particulate nitrogen based on suspended sediment from the ocean to the river basin soils was 22.9 % with SD of 3.6 % by using stable isotope analysis (SIA) of nitrogen (δ15N).

Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts are focused on improving water quality, living resources, and ecological habitats by 2010. One aspect of the water-quality restoration is the refinement of strategies designed to implement nutrient-reduction practices within the Bay watershed. These strategies are being refined and implemented by resource managers of the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP), a partnership comprised of various Federal, State, and local agencies that includes jurisdictions within Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), an active member of the CBP, provides necessary water-quality information for these Chesapeake Bay nutrient-reduction strategy revisions and evaluations. The formulation and revision of effective nutrient-reduction strategies requires detailed scientific information and an analytical understanding of the sources, transport, and delivery of nutrients to the Chesapeake Bay. The USGS is supporting these strategies by providing scientific information to resource managers that can help them evaluate and understand these processes. One statistical model available to resource managers is a collection of SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed (SPARROW) attributes, which uses a nonlinear regression approach to spatially relatenutrient sources and watershed characteristics to nutrient loads of streams throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Developed by the USGS, information generated by SPARROW can help resource managers determine the geographical distribution and relative contribution of nutrient sources and the factors that affect their transport to the Bay. Nutrient source information representing the late 1990s time period was obtained from several agencies and used to create and compile digital spatial datasets of total nitrogen and total phosphorus contributions that served as input sources to the SPARROW models. These data represent

The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of inadequate usual nutrient intake among female university students. This was a cross-sectional study in which 119 students at a public university in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, completed 3-day estimated food records. These were analyzed for nutrient content, and intake distributions were determined. Nutrient intake distributions were estimated using the National Research Council method. For nutrients for which an Estimated Average Requirement has been established, the Estimated Average Requirement cutpoint method was used to determine the proportion of students with inadequate intake. The students' food records indicated inadequate intakes of folate (99%), zinc (47%), and copper (33%). For approximately 95% of the students in this study, calcium was less than the Adequate Intake. The results showed the need for improvement in dietary choices to minimize the prevalence of inadequate intake of folate, zinc, copper, and calcium in this group. PMID:16647333

Limited evidence to date suggests that acidic precipitation promotes leaching of nutrient cations from conifer foliage. n order to evaluate the relative contribution of the apoplast cation exchange complex and symplast nutrient pools to the leached ions, the magnitude of potentia...

The environmental effects of residue removal and whole-tree utilization for several forest types in the United States are being studied. Sites were selected to include central hardwoods, northern hardwoods, northern hardwood, northern coniferous, southern Appalachian oak-hickory, northwestern coniferous, and southern pine forests. All sites have been established at locations having a long history of biomass and nutrient cycling research to provide a foundation of data to assess the effects of whole-tree harvest on erosion, nutrients, water quality, and productivity. This report (the fourth in a series) describes the direct effects of intensive harvesting and some regeneration effects. Harvesting, including bole only and residue removal, is complete at all sites, and ecosystem nutrient budgets for most sites are presented. Short-term direct effects on nutrients cycling processes, impacts of different intensities of harvest on nutrient pools, and uncertainties of long-term effects are discussed. A brief discussion of implications of whole-tree removal is included. 12 references, 9 figures, 43 tables.

Subsurface drainage is a very common practice in the agricultural U.S. Midwest. It is typically installed in poorly drained soils in order to enhance crop yields. The presence of tile drains creates a route for agrichemicals to travel and therefore negatively impacts stream water quality. This study estimated through end-member analyses the contributions of tile drainage, groundwater, and surface runoff to streamflow at the watershed scale based on continuously monitored data. Especial attention was devoted to quantifying tile drainage impact on watershed streamflow and nutrient export loads. Data analyzed includes streamflow, rainfall, soil moisture, shallow groundwater levels, in-stream nitrate+nitrite concentrations and specific conductance. Data were collected at a HUC12 watershed located in Northeast Iowa, USA. Approximately 60% of the total watershed area is devoted to agricultural activities and forest and grassland are the other two predominant land uses. Results show that approximately 20% of total annual streamflow comes from tile drainage and during rainfall events tile drainage contribution can go up to 30%. Furthermore, for most of the analyzed rainfall events groundwater responded faster and in a more dramatic fashion than tile drainage. The State of Iowa is currently carrying out a plan to reduce nutrients in Iowa waters and the Gulf of Mexico (Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy). The outcome of this investigation has the potential to assist in Best Management Practice (BMP) scenario selection and therefore help the state achieve water quality goals.

Three manure agitation procedures were examined in this study (vertical mixing, horizontal mixing, and no mixing) to determine the efficacy of producing a representative manure sample. The total solids content for manure from gestation pigs was found to be well correlated with the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in the manure, with highly significant correlation coefficients of 0.988 and 0.994, respectively. Linear correlations were observed between the TN and TP contents and the manure specific gravity (correlation coefficients: 0.991 and 0.987, respectively). Therefore, it may be inferred that the nutrients in pig manure can be estimated with reasonable accuracy by measuring the liquid manure specific gravity. A rapid testing method for manure nutrient contents (TN and TP) using a soil hydrometer was also evaluated. The results showed that the estimating error increased from +/-10% to +/-30% with the decrease in TN (from 1000 to 100 ppm) and TP (from 700 to 50 ppm) concentrations in the manure. Data also showed that the hydrometer readings had to be taken within 10 s after mixing to avoid reading drift in specific gravity due to the settling of manure solids. PMID:14766157

... review will also include the metabolism of relatednutrients (such as vitamin D, magnesium, phosphorus... nutrients (such as vitamin D, magnesium, phosphorus, and fluoride) in order to prevent deficiency states... requirements for the relatednutrients, vitamin D, magnesium, phosphorus, and fluoride. The impact of...

Data collected for the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment program from 1992-2001 were used to investigate the relations between nutrient concentrations and nutrient sources, hydrology, and basin characteristics. Regression models were developed to estimate annual flow-weighted concentrations of total nitrogen and total phosphorus using explanatory variables derived from currently available national ancillary data. Different total-nitrogen regression models were used for agricultural (25 percent or more of basin area classified as agricultural land use) and nonagricultural basins. Atmospheric, fertilizer, and manure inputs of nitrogen, percent sand in soil, subsurface drainage, overland flow, mean annual precipitation, and percent undeveloped area were significant variables in the agricultural basin total nitrogen model. Significant explanatory variables in the nonagricultural total nitrogen model were total nonpoint-source nitrogen input (sum of nitrogen from manure, fertilizer, and atmospheric deposition), population density, mean annual runoff, and percent base flow. The concentrations of nutrients derived from regression (CONDOR) models were applied to drainage basins associated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) River Reach File (RF1) to predict flow-weighted mean annual total nitrogen concentrations for the conterminous United States. The majority of stream miles in the Nation have predicted concentrations less than 5 milligrams per liter. Concentrations greater than 5 milligrams per liter were predicted for a broad area extending from Ohio to eastern Nebraska, areas spatially associated with greater application of fertilizer and manure. Probabilities that mean annual total-nitrogen concentrations exceed the USEPA regional nutrient criteria were determined by incorporating model prediction uncertainty. In all nutrient regions where criteria have been established, there is at least a 50 percent probability of exceeding

Wheat plants (Triticum aestivum) were grown for 43 days in a micro-porous tube nutrient delivery system. Roots were unable to penetrate the microporous tube, but grew on the surface and maintained capillary contact with the nutrient solution on the inside of the tube through the 5-micron pores of the porous tube. Water potential in the system was controlled at -0.4, -0.8, and -3.0 kPa by adjusting the applied pressure (hydrostatic head) to the nutrient solution flowing through the microporous tubes. A relatively small decrease in applied water potential from -0.4 to -3.0 kPa resulted in a 34% reduction of shoot growth but only a moderate reduction in the midday leaf water potential from -1.3 to -1.7 MPa. Carbon dioxide assimilation decreased and water use efficiency increased with the more negative applied water potentials, while intercellular CO2 concentration remained constant. This was associated with a decrease in stomatal conductance to water vapor from 1.90 to 0.98 mol m-2 s-1 and a decrease in total apparent hydraulic conductance from 47 to 12 micromoles s-1 MPa-1. Although the applied water potentials were in the -0.4 to -3.0 kPa range, the actual water potential perceived by the plant roots appeared to be in the range of -0.26 to -0.38 MPa as estimated by the leaf water potential of bagged plants. The amount of K, Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu, and B accumulated with each unit of transpired water increased as the applied water potential became less negative. The increase in accumulation ranged from 1.4-fold for K to 2.2-fold for B. The physiological responses observed in this study in response to small constant differences in applied water potentials were much greater than expected from either the applied water potential or the observed plant water potential. Even though the micro-porous tube may not represent natural conditions and could possibly introduce morphological and physiological artifacts, it enables a high degree of control of water potential that facilitates

Wheat plants (Triticum aestivum) were grown for 43 days in a micro-porous tube nutrient delivery system. Roots were unable to penetrate the microporous tube, but grew on the surface and maintained capillary contact with the nutrient solution on the inside of the tube through the 5-micron pores of the porous tube. Water potential in the system was controlled at -0.4, -0.8, and -3.0 kPa by adjusting the applied pressure (hydrostatic head) to the nutrient solution flowing through the microporous tubes. A relatively small decrease in applied water potential from -0.4 to -3.0 kPa resulted in a 34% reduction of shoot growth but only a moderate reduction in the midday leaf water potential from -1.3 to -1.7 MPa. Carbon dioxide assimilation decreased and water use efficiency increased with the more negative applied water potentials, while intercellular CO2 concentration remained constant. This was associated with a decrease in stomatal conductance to water vapor from 1.90 to 0.98 mol/(sq m sec) and a decrease in total apparent hydraulic conductance from 47 to 12 (micro)mol/(sec MPa). Although the applied water potentials were in the -0.4 to -3.0 kPa range, the actual water potential perceived by the plant roots appeared to be in the range of -0.26 to -0.38 MPa as estimated by the leaf water potential of bagged plants. The amount of K, Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu, and B accumulated with each unit of transpired water increased as the applied water potential became less negative. The increase in accumulation ranged from 1.4-fold for K to 2.2-fold for B. The physiological responses observed in this study in response to small constant differences in applied water potentials were much greater than expected from either the applied water potential or the observed plant water potential. Even though the micro-porous tube may not represent natural conditions and could possibly introduce morphological and physiological artifacts, it enables a high degree of control of water potential that

Excessive algal growth in streams and rivers from nutrient enrichment can cause costly human health and environmental problems. As part of the US Environmental Protection Agency's Nutrient Scientific Technical Exchange Partnership and Support (N-STEPS) program, we have been developing stressor-response (S-R) models relatingnutrients to attached algal (periphyton) communities to help prioritize monitoring for water quality impairments in Oregon (Pacific Northwest, USA) streams and rivers. Existing data from the state and neighboring states were compiled and standardized from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, US Environmental Protection Agency, and the US Geological Survey. To develop S-R models, algal community and biomass metrics were compared with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentration data, including total, dissolved, and inorganic forms of these nutrients. In total, 928 paired algal-nutrient samples were compiled from the 8 Level-III Ecoregions occurring in Oregon. Relationships between algal biomass metrics and nutrient concentrations were weak, with only ash-free dry mass and standing stock of chlorophyll a showing slight positive relationships across gradients of total N and soluble reactive P concentrations, respectively. In contrast, metrics describing algal community composition, including percent diatoms and abundance of nutrient-sensitive species, showed very strong nonlinear relationships with total N or P concentrations. This suggests that data describing algal community composition can help identify specific nutrient stressors across environmentally-diverse streams and rivers in the Pacific Northwest. Future analyses will examine if nutrient-algal S-R models vary across different hydrological, physiographical, and ecological settings in the region.

Relative water content may be accurately estimated using the ratio of tissue fresh weight to tissue turgid weight, termed here relative tissue weight. That relative water content and relative tissue weight are linearly related is demonstrated algebraically. The mean value of r(2) for grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Shiraz) leaf tissue over eight separate sampling occasions was 0.993. Similarly high values were obtained for maize (Zea mays cv. Cornell M-3) (0.998) and apple (Malus sylvestris cv. Northern Spy) (0.997) using a range of leaf ages. The proposal by Downey and Miller (1971. Rapid measurements of relative turgidity in maize (Zea mays L.). New Phytol. 70: 555-560) that relative water content in maize may be estimated from water uptake was also investigated for grapevine leaves; this was found to be a less reliable estimate than that obtained with relative tissue weight. With either method, there is a need for calibration, although this could be achieved for relative tissue weight at least with only a few subsamples. PMID:16658686

We present a versatile inequality of uncertainty relations which are useful when one approximates an observable and/or estimates a physical parameter based on the measurement of another observable. It is shown that the optimal choice for proxy functions used for the approximation is given by Aharonov's weak value, which also determines the classical Fisher information in parameter estimation, turning our inequality into the genuine Cramér-Rao inequality. Since the standard form of the uncertainty relation arises as a special case of our inequality, and since the parameter estimation is available as well, our inequality can treat both the position-momentum and the time-energy relations in one framework albeit handled differently.

Based on the data of high density spatial sampling in July 2013, we analyzed the spatial distribution pattern of nutrients and estimated their amount during bloom season in Lake Taihu to discuss the correlation of algal bloom in different types of ecological water and nutrients in large shallow lake and the representative of its sampling sites. The research showed that nutrients and chlorophyll-a concentration (CHL) in Lake Taihu tended to reduce from northwest to southeast in general during bloom season. Nitrogen was mainly present in dissolved form, accounting for 76.28 percent of the total nitrogen (TN), and phosphorus was mainly present in particulate form, accounting for 66.38 percent of the total phosphorus (TP). The sampling points in the whole lake could be divided into four sections with significant difference between each other using principal component analysis and cluster analysis: The first section was located in the district of northwestern Lake Taihu, which represented the heavy eutrophic lake areas with serious blooms; the second section mainly included Meiliang Bay and area of river inflow into lake in South of Lake Taihu, which stood for moderate eutrophication of water quality; The third section included the central area and the southwest of lake, which represented the water area with medium water pollution, but blooms were frequent; And the fourth area was the remainder areas including Gonghu Bay, Xukou Bay, and Eastern Taihu, which stood for the region of weaker blooms and better water quality. Different factors also affected the growth of planktonic algae in different sections: From the point of the whole lake, CHL was significantly correlated with TP, TN, total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) and nitrate nitrogen (NO3(-) -N); while in the first section, CHL was significantly correlated to TP and TDN; CHL was correlated to TN and TDN in the second section; in the third section, the influencing factors were TP, reactive phosphate (PO4(3-) -P), TDN; PO

The Lake Michigan Mass Balance Project (LMMBP) measured and modeled the concentrations of environmentally persistent contaminants in air, river and lake water, sediment, and fish and bird tissues in and around Lake Michigan for an 18-month period spanning 1994-95. Tributary loads were calculated as part of the LMMBP. The work described in this report was designed to provide updated concentration data and load estimates for 5 nutrients, total mercury, and total polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) at 5 of the original 11 LMMBP sampling sites. Samples were collected at five Lake Michigan tributary monitoring sites during 2005 and 2006. Annual loads calculated for the 2005-6 sampling period are as much as 50 percent lower relative to the 1994-95 time period. Differences between the loads calculated for the two time periods are likely related to a combination of (1) biases introduced by a reduced level of sampling effort, (2) differences in hydrological characteristics, and (3) actual environmental change. Estimated annual total mercury loads during 2005-6 ranged from 51 kilograms per year (kg/yr) in the Fox River to 2.2 kg/yr in the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal. Estimated annual total PCB loads during 2005-6 ranged from 132 kg/yr in the Fox River to 6.2 kg/yr in the Grand River.

We use quantum estimation theory to formulate bounds of errors in quantum measurement for arbitrary quantum states and observables in a finite-dimensional Hilbert space. We prove that the measurement errors of two noncommuting observables satisfy Heisenberg-type uncertainty relation, find the achievable bound, and propose a strategy to achieve it.

Relations between riverine export (load) of total nitrogen (N) and total phosphorus (P) from 133 large agricultural watersheds in the United States and factors affecting nutrient transport were evaluated using empirical regression models. After controlling for anthropogenic inputs and other landscape factors affecting nutrient transport-such as runoff, precipitation, slope, number of reservoirs, irrigated area, and area with subsurface tile drains-the relations between export and the area in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) (N) and conservation tillage (P) were positive. Additional interaction terms indicated that the relations between export and the area in conservation tillage (N) and the CRP (P) progressed from being clearly positive when soil erodibility was low or moderate, to being close to zero when soil erodibility was higher, to possibly being slightly negative only at the 90th to 95th percentile of soil erodibility values. Possible explanations for the increase in nutrient export with increased area in management practices include greater transport of soluble nutrients from areas in conservation tillage; lagged response of stream quality to implementation of management practices because of nitrogen transport in groundwater, time for vegetative cover to mature, and/or prior accumulation of P in soils; or limitations in the management practice and stream monitoring data sets. If lags are occurring, current nutrient export from agricultural watersheds may still be reflecting the influence of agricultural land-use practices that were in place before the implementation of these management practices.

Streamflow was the major source of water and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) to Lake Cochituate, followed by ground water, and then precipitation during April 1978 through March 1979. Compared to all sources during that period, streams contributed 7,217 million gallons (a little over 82 percent) of water, 63 ,000 pounds (between 50 and 60 percent) of nitrogen, and 3,000 pounds (94 percent) of phosphorus. A little over 60 percent of all the water that entered Lake Cochituate flowed from Fisk Pond. This single source transported about 38,000 pounds of nitrogen and 2,000 pounds of phosphorus. Ground-water inflow to Lake Cochituate occurs along its shoreline except at the north end of Lake Cochituate 's North Pond where natural seepage from the lake is occurring and at locations on the lake 's Middle and South Ponds where municipal wells induce infiltration of lake water amounting to 1,228 million gallons for that period. Discharge of ground water to the lake was estimated to range from 462 to 816 million gallons and transported from 31,000 to 55,000 pounds of nitrogen and from 46 to 82 pounds of phosphorus. Bulk precipitation was estimated to contribute about the same volume of water to the lake as ground water but double its phosphorus load. However, the load of nitrogen, 8000 pounds, from bulk precipitation was the smallest of any source. (USGS)

In a biological assay the expected response may be transformed to a variable bounded between 0 and 1. If the transformed response is regarded as analogous to the tolerance distribution function, the mean of that distribution may be estimated for the standard and test preparations, and a simple estimator of the relative potency obtained. The special case where the identity transformation is used for a quantal response corresponds to Spearman's estimator, and our generalization has similar unbiasedness properties to that estimator. Asymptotic results are derived when the intervals between dose levels decrease and the sample of each dose level simultaneously increases. These results are evaluated for the case with equal sample sizes at regularly spaced values of the dose metameter. An approximate test for similarity is proposed. If the tolerance distribution is known up to a scale parameter, then the transformation may be chosen so that the estimator is asymptotically fully efficient. An application to the thermal disinfestation of wheat is given. PMID:7272411

When estimating age, human experts can provide privileged information that encodes the facial attributes of aging, such as smoothness, face shape, face acne, wrinkles, and bags under-eyes. In automatic age estimation, privileged information is unavailable to test images. To overcome this problem, we hypothesize that asymmetric information can be explored and exploited to improve the generalizability of the trained model. Using the learning using privileged information (LUPI) framework, we tested this hypothesis by carefully defining relative attributes for support vector machine (SVM+) to improve the performance of age estimation. We term this specific setting as relative attribute SVM+ (raSVM+), in which the privileged information enables separation of outliers from inliers at the training stage and effectively manipulates slack variables and age determination errors during model training, and thus guides the trained predictor toward a generalizable solution. Experimentally, the superiority of raSVM+ was confirmed by comparing it with state-of-the-art algorithms on the face and gesture recognition research network (FG-NET) and craniofacial longitudinal morphological face aging databases. raSVM+ is a promising development that improves age estimation, with the mean absolute error reaching 4.07 on FG-NET. PMID:25850101

Our objective was to simulate the effect of child-friendly (CF) adaptations of the National Cancer Institute’s Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour Dietary Recall (ASA24) on estimates of nutrient intake. One hundred twenty children, 8–13 years old, entered their previous day’s intake using the ASA24 ...

Anthropogenic nutrient enrichment of the coastal zone is now a well-established fact. However, there is still uncertainty about the mechanisms through which nutrient enrichment can disrupt biological communities and ecosystem processes in the coastal zone. For example, while some estuaries exhibit classic symptoms of acute eutrophication, including enhanced production of algal biomass, other nutrient-rich estuaries maintain low algal biomass and primary production. This implies that large differences exist among coastal ecosystems in the rates and patterns of nutrient assimilation and cycling. Part of this variability comes from differences among ecosystems in the other resource that can limit algal growth and production - the light energy required for photosynthesis. Complete understanding of the eutrophication process requires consideration of the interacting effects of light and nutrients, including the role of light availability as a regulator of the expression of eutrophication. A simple index of the relative strength of light and nutrient limitation of algal growth can be derived from models that describe growth rate as a function of these resources. This index can then be used as one diagnostic to classify the sensitivity of coastal ecosystems to the harmful effects of eutrophication. Here I illustrate the application of this diagnostic with light and nutrient measurements made in three California estuaries and two Dutch estuaries.

Objective To evaluate the validity of fruit and vegetable intake, using three classification schemes, as it relates to plasma carotenoid and vitamin C concentrations among Chinese women. Design Intakes were calculated from an interviewer-administered food frequency questionnaire. Fruits and vegetables, botanical groups, and high-nutrient groups were evaluated. These three classification schemes were compared with plasma carotenoid and vitamin C concentrations from blood drawn within one week of questionnaire completion. Setting Shanghai, China Subjects Participants (n=2031) were drawn from women who participated in a case-control study of diet and breast diseases nested within a randomized trial of breast self-examination among textile workers (n=266,064) Results Fruit intake was significantly (p<0.05) and positively associated with plasma concentrations of α-tocopherol, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, α-carotene, β-carotene, retinyl palmitate, and vitamin C. Fruit intake was inversely associated with γ-tocopherol and lutein+zeaxanthin concentrations. Vegetable consumption was significantly and positively associated with γ-tocopherol, and β-cryptoxanthin concentrations. Each botanical and high-nutrient group was also significantly associated with particular plasma nutrient concentrations. Fruit and vegetable intake and most plasma nutrient concentrations were significantly associated with season of interview. Conclusions These results suggest that the manner in which fruits and vegetables are grouped provides different plasma nutrient exposure information, which may be an important consideration when testing and generating hypotheses regarding disease risk in relation to diet. Interview season should be considered when evaluating associations of reported intake and plasma nutrients with disease outcomes. PMID:21729475

We address the problem of estimating the relative pose, i.e. translation and rotation, of two calibrated cameras from image point correspondences. Our approach is to factor the nonlinear algebraic pose error functional into translational and rotational components, and to optimize translation and rotation independently. This factorization admits subproblems that can be solved using direct methods with practical guarantees on global optimality. That is, for a given translation, the corresponding optimal rotation can directly be determined, and vice versa. We show that these subproblems are equivalent to computing the least eigenvector of second- and fourth-order symmetric tensors. When neither translation or rotation is known, alternating translation and rotation optimization leads to a simple, efficient, and robust algorithm for pose estimation that improves on the well-known 5- and 8-point methods.

Lake Kojima, an artificial lake located in the coastal area of western Japan, is categorized as a hyper eutrophic lake due to the nutrient inputs from the Sasagase River, Kurashiki River and Kamo River. The input nutrient loads from the rivers have never been assessed because there are no observation stations for runoff rate. The objective of this study is to confirm the total nitrogen (T-N) and total phosphorus (T-P) loads into Lake Kojima using the SWAT model for 60 years and considering changes in land use and the amount of domestic wastewater in the watersheds. Estimation results show that more than 90% of the total nutrient load comes from the Sasagase and Kurashiki rivers. The estimated T-N and T-P loads indicated two different trends in the rivers; an increasing trend is found during the period from 1950 to 1980, while a decreasing trend is found during the period from 1980 to 2009. It was suggested that the increasing trend was commonly caused by the combined effects of increase of the amount of domestic wastewater and agricultural wastewater in the watersheds, while the decreasing trend was caused by the expansion of domestic wastewater treatment and decrease of agricultural land use. The contribution ratio of domestic wastewater to the total amount of nutrient load was estimated to be 60% in Sasagase River and 15% in Kurashiki River because the treatment ratio of domestic wastewater in Kurashiki River was higher than in Sasagase River.

Most river basins and coastal regions worldwide are not monitored adequately to support direct data based nutrient load computations to receiving waters. Therefore, there is continued need to investigate basic relationships between upstream conditions and downstream nutrient discharges. Much work has been done in the past to identify land use based nutrient yield coefficients, however yield coefficients disconnect load estimation from the hydrological cycle and thus expected changes. Here, we investigate relationships between recent multi-year flow-averaged riverine total nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (TP) concentrations as a function of upstream population density, percent crop and total agricultural cover, and fertilisation load over a wide range of scale (5E0-1.8E6 km2) and characteristics (e.g., 0-95% crop cover). We developed two new and utilised four previously published datasets (n=150 basins in total) to bridge understanding across three major drainage areas: the Baltic Sea, the Mississippi River basin and eastern seaboard, U.S.A. Significant positive correlations were observed in most cases between TN and TP concentrations and the geographic variables. Most noteworthy were strong and consistent relationships across the six datasets and three regions for TN concentration as a function of both percent crop cover and basin fertilisation load. In comparison, TP relationships indicated scale and region dependence. Simple empirical models for TN and TP prediction were calibrated and tested against independent data (n=113). These results are relevant to understanding how nutrient export functions across regions, and can also be useful for first order load estimation (provided complimentary flow data) in other less-well monitored non-arid regions.

Benthic oxygen uptake and nutrient releases of N, P and Si were measured weekly at 2 sites in South San Francisco Bay around the 1996 spring bloom. Exchanges across the sediment-water interface were estimated from whole core incubations performed in the laboratory at in situ temperature and in dark. Fluxes changed significantly on a weekly time scale. Over a period of 15 wk the fluxes of dissolved inorganic N, P and Si ranged from -40 to +200, 0 to 13 and from 30 to 400 ??mol m-2 h-1 respectively. Sediment oxygen demand increased from 10 before to 64 mg O2 m-2 h-1 just after the bloom period. During the bloom, nutrient fluxes represented about 20, 16 and 9% of the Si, P and N requirements for primary production. Before and after the bloom period, Si fluxes contributed up to 30 and > 100% of this requirement and P and N fluxes up to 15 and 50% respectively. Simple empirical models explain most of the spatial-temporal variability of benthic fluxes of Si, P and NH4 (but not NO3) from 3 predictor variables: sediment porosity, nutrient concentration in bottom waters and chlorophyll content of surficial sediments. These models show that algal blooms influence benthic-pelagic nutrient exchange through 2 processes: (1) depletion of nutrients from the water column (which enhances gradient-driven transports across the sediment-water interface) and (2) sedimentation of labile phytodetritus (which promotes remineralization in or on the surficial sediments). Rates and patterns of nutrient cycling were very different at the shallow and deep study sites, illustrating the challenge of extrapolating measurements of coupled algae-nutrient dynamics to whole ecosystems.

Global nutrient cycles have been altered by the use of fossil fuels and fertilizers resulting in increases in nutrient loads to aquatic systems. In the United States, excess nutrients have been repeatedly reported as the primary cause of lake water quality impairments. Setting nutrient criteria that are protective of a lakes ecological condition is one common solution; however, the data required to do this are not always easily available. A useful solution for this is to combine available field data (i.e., The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) National Lake Assessment (NLA)) with average annual nutrient load models (i.e., USGS SPARROW model) to estimate summer concentrations across a large number of lakes. In this paper we use this combined approach and compare the observed total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TN) concentrations in Northeastern lakes from the 2007 National Lake Assessment to those predicted by the Northeast SPARROW model. We successfully adjusted the SPARROW predictions to the NLA observations with the use of Vollenweider equations, simple input-output models that predict nutrient concentrations in lakes based on nutrient loads and hydraulic residence time. This allows us to better predict summer concentrations of TN and TP in Northeastern lakes and ponds. On average we improved our predicted concentrations of TN and TP with Vollenweider models by 18.7% for nitrogen and 19.0% for phosphorus. These improved predictions are being used in other studies to model ecosystem services (e.g., aesthetics) and dis-services (e.g. cyanobacterial blooms) for ~18,000 lakes in the Northeastern United States. PMID:24260579

The Louisiana continental shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico experiences bottom water hypoxia in the summer. In this study, we applied a biogeochemical model that simulates dissolved oxygen concentrations on the shelf in response to varying riverine nutrient and organic carbon loads, boundary fluxes, and sediment fluxes. Five-year model simulations demonstrated that midsummer hypoxic areas were most sensitive to riverine nutrient loads and sediment oxygen demand from settled organic carbon. Hypoxic area predictions were also sensitive to nutrient and organic carbon fluxes from lateral boundaries. The predicted hypoxic area decreased with decreases in nutrient loads, but the extent of change was influenced by the method used to estimate model boundary concentrations. We demonstrated that modeling efforts to predict changes in hypoxic area on the continental shelf in relationship to changes in nutrients should include representative boundary nutrient and organic carbon concentrations and functions for estimating sediment oxygen demand that are linked to settled organic carbon derived from water-column primary production. On the basis of our model analyses using the most representative boundary concentrations, nutrient loads would need to be reduced by 69% to achieve the Gulf of Mexico Nutrient Task Force Action Plan target hypoxic area of 5000 km(2). PMID:27406634

The Clean Water Action Plan of 1998 provides a blueprint for federal agencies to work with states, tribes, and other stakeholders to protect and restore the Nation?s water resources. The plan includes an initiative that addresses the nutrientenrichment problem of lakes and streams across the United States. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is working to set nutrient criteria by nationwide nutrient ecoregions that are an aggregation of the Omernik level III ecoregions.Because low levels of nutrients are necessary for healthy streams and elevated concentrations can cause algal blooms that deplete available oxygen and kill off aquatic organisms, criteria levels are to be set, in part, using the relation between chlorophyll a and concentrations of total nitrogen and total phosphorus. Data from Pennsylvania and West Virginia, collected between 1990 and 1998, were analyzed for relations between chlorophyll a, nutrients, and other explanatory variables. Both phytoplankton and periphyton chlorophyll a concentrations from lakes and streams were analyzed separately within each of the USEPA nutrient ecoregions located within the boundaries of the two states. These four nutrient ecoregions are VII (Mostly Glaciated Dairy), VIII (Nutrient Poor, Largely Glaciated Upper Midwest and Northeast), IX (Southeastern Temperate Forested Plains and Hills), and XI (Central and Eastern Forested Uplands).ytoplankton chlorophyll a concentrations in lakes were related to total nitrogen, total phosphorus, Secchi depth, concentration of dissolved oxygen, pH, water temperature, and specific conductivity. In nutrient ecoregion VII, nutrients were not significant predictors of chlorophyll a concentrations. Total nitrogen, Secchi depth, and pH were significantly related to phytoplankton chlorophyll a concentrations in nutrient ecoregion IX. Lake periphyton chlorophyll a concentrations from nutrient ecoregion XI were related to total phosphorus rather than total nitrogen, Secchi depth

NDVI did not show any significant difference between treatments, VIs sensitive to pigment variations and physiology (PRI, MTCI) and F760 behaved as GPP. Model performance test indicated that VIs related to physiology and fluorescence are key to account for nutrient availability in LUE models and to better predict GPP.

Wheat plants (Triticum aestivum) were grown for 43 days in a micro-porous tube nutrient delivery system. Roots were unable to penetrate the microporous tube, but grew on the surface and maintained capillary contact with the nutrient solution on the inside of the tube through the 5-microns pores of the porous tube. Water potential in the system was controlled at -0.4, -0.8, and -3.0 kPa by adjusting the applied pressure (hydrostatic head) to the nutrient solution flowing through the microporous tubes. A relatively small decrease in applied water potential from -0.4 to -3.0 kPa resulted in a 34% reduction of shoot growth but only a moderate reduction in the mid-day leaf water potential from - 1.3 to - 1.7 MPa. Carbon dioxide assimilation decreased and water use efficiency increased with the more negative applied water Potentials, while intercellular C02 concentration remained constant. The physiological responses observed in this study in response to small constant differences in applied water potentials were much greater than expected from either the applied water potential or the observed plant water potential. Even though the micro-porous tube may not represent natural conditions and could possibly introduce morphological and physiological artifacts , it enables a high degree of control of water potential that facilitates the investigation of many aspects of water relations not practical with other experimental systems.

Relatively little is known about the nutritional ecology of fruit flies in the genus Rhagoletis. In this study, nutrient amounts in male and female western cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis indifferens Curran, and the availability of nitrogen and sugar on surfaces of leaves, fruit, and extrafloral necta...

Total maximum daily load (TMDL) programs utilize pollutant load reductions as the primary strategy to restore adversely affected waters of the USA. Accurate and defensible "crediting" for TMDL reductions of sediment and nutrients requires stream monitoring programs capable of quantitative assessment of soil erosivity and the "connectivity" between erosive areas and stream channels across the watershed. Using continuous (15-min) stream monitoring information from typical alpine, snowmelt-driven watersheds [Ward (2,521 ha), Blackwood (2,886 ha), and Homewood (260 ha, Homewood Mountain Resort--HMR) Creeks] on the west shore of the Lake Tahoe Basin, daily sediment (and nutrient for HMR) loads are determined and compared with those developed from estimated load-flow relationships developed from grab sampling data. Compared to the previously estimated sediment load-discharge relationships, measured curves were slightly below those estimated, though not significantly so at Blackwood and Ward Creeks in the period 1997-2002. Based on average daily flowrates determined from calibrated hydrologic modeling during the period 1994-2004, average daily flowrate frequency distributions per year are determined from which load reduction "crediting" towards TMDL targets can be evaluated. Despite seemingly similar estimated and measured sediment load-flow relationships, annual "estimated" loads exceeded those "measured" by about 40 % for Ward and Blackwood Creeks and over 300 times for HMR Creek. Similarly, though less dramatic, estimated annual nutrient loads at HMR Creek exceeded those measured by 1.7 and 6 times for total nitrogen and total phosphorus, respectively. Such results indicate that actual measured load-flow relationships are likely necessary for realistic quantitative and defensible TMDL crediting. PMID:23435852

We describe the design, characterization, and use of "programmable", sterile growth environments for individual (or small sets of) plants. The specific relative humidities and nutrient availability experienced by the plant is established (RH between 15% and 95%; nutrient concentration as desired) during the setup of the growth environment, which takes about 5 minutes and <1$ in disposable cost. These systems maintain these environmental parameters constant for at least 14 days with minimal intervention (one minute every two days). The design is composed entirely of off-the-shelf components (e.g., LEGO® bricks) and is characterized by (i) a separation of root and shoot environment (which is physiologically relevant and facilitates imposing specific conditions on the root system, e.g., darkness), (ii) the development of the root system on a flat surface, where the root enjoys constant contact with nutrient solution and air, (iii) a compatibility with root phenotyping. We demonstrate phenotyping by characterizing root systems of Brassica rapa plants growing in different relative humidities (55%, 75%, and 95%). While most phenotypes were found to be sensitive to these environmental changes, a phenotype tightly associated with root system topology-the size distribution of the areas encircled by roots-appeared to be remarkably and counterintuitively insensitive to humidity changes. These setups combine many of the advantages of hydroponics conditions (e.g., root phenotyping, complete control over nutrient composition, scalability) and soil conditions (e.g., aeration of roots, shading of roots), while being comparable in cost and setup time to Magenta® boxes. PMID:27304431

We describe the design, characterization, and use of “programmable”, sterile growth environments for individual (or small sets of) plants. The specific relative humidities and nutrient availability experienced by the plant is established (RH between 15% and 95%; nutrient concentration as desired) during the setup of the growth environment, which takes about 5 minutes and <1$ in disposable cost. These systems maintain these environmental parameters constant for at least 14 days with minimal intervention (one minute every two days). The design is composed entirely of off-the-shelf components (e.g., LEGO® bricks) and is characterized by (i) a separation of root and shoot environment (which is physiologically relevant and facilitates imposing specific conditions on the root system, e.g., darkness), (ii) the development of the root system on a flat surface, where the root enjoys constant contact with nutrient solution and air, (iii) a compatibility with root phenotyping. We demonstrate phenotyping by characterizing root systems of Brassica rapa plants growing in different relative humidities (55%, 75%, and 95%). While most phenotypes were found to be sensitive to these environmental changes, a phenotype tightly associated with root system topology–the size distribution of the areas encircled by roots–appeared to be remarkably and counterintuitively insensitive to humidity changes. These setups combine many of the advantages of hydroponics conditions (e.g., root phenotyping, complete control over nutrient composition, scalability) and soil conditions (e.g., aeration of roots, shading of roots), while being comparable in cost and setup time to Magenta® boxes. PMID:27304431

Large-scale forestry operations, like clear-cutting, may impair surface water quality if not done with environmental considerations in mind. Catchment and country level estimates of nutrient loads from forestry are generally based on specific export values, i.e., changes in annual exports due to the implemented forestry operations expressed in kg ha(-1). We introduce here a specific concentration approach as a method to estimate the impact of clear-cutting on nutrient concentrations and export in headwater streams. This new method is potentially a more dynamic and flexible tool to estimatenutrient loads caused by forestry, because variation in annual runoff can be taken into account in load assessments. We combined water quality data from eight boreal headwater catchment pairs located in Finland and Sweden, where the effect of clear-cutting on stream water quality has been studied experimentally. Statistically significant specific concentration values could be produced for total nitrogen, nitrate, ammonium, and phosphate. The significant increases in the concentrations of these nutrients occurred between 2 and 6 years after clear-cutting. Significant specific concentration values could not be produced for total phosphorus and total organic carbon with the whole dataset, although in some single studies significant increases in their concentrations after clear-cutting were observed. The presented method enables taking into account variation in runoff, temporal dynamics of effects, and the proportional size of the treated area in load calculations. The number of existing studies considering large site-specific variation in responses to clear-cutting is small, and therefore further empirical studies are needed to improve predictive capabilities of the specific concentration values. PMID:25663527

Low dissolved oxygen concentrations in the waters of Hood Canal threaten marine life in late summer and early autumn. Oxygen depletion in the deep layers and landward reaches of the canal is caused by decomposition of excess phytoplankton biomass, which feeds on nutrients (primarily nitrogen compounds) that enter the canal from various sources, along with stratification of the water column that prevents mixing and replenishment of oxygen. Although seawater entering the canal is the largest source of nitrogen, ground-water discharge to the canal also contributes significant quantities, particularly during summer months when phytoplankton growth is most sensitive to nutrient availability. Quantifying ground-water derived nutrient loads entering an ecologically sensitive system such as Hood Canal is a critical component of constraining the total nutrient budget and ultimately implementing effective management strategies to reduce impacts of eutrophication. The amount of nutrients entering Hood Canal from ground water was estimated using traditional and indirect measurements of ground-water discharge, and analysis of nutrient concentrations. Ground-water discharge to Hood Canal is variable in space and time because of local geology, variable hydraulic gradients in the ground-water system adjacent to the shoreline, and a large tidal range of 3 to 5 meters. Intensive studies of ground-water seepage and hydraulic-head gradients in the shallow, nearshore areas were used to quantify the freshwater component of submarine ground-water discharge (SGD), whereas indirect methods using radon and radium geochemical tracers helped quantify total SGD and recirculated seawater. In areas with confirmed ground-water discharge, shore-perpendicular electrical resistivity profiles, continuous electromagnetic seepage-meter measurements, and continuous radon measurements were used to visualize temporal variations in ground-water discharge over several tidal cycles. The results of these

The effects of cage aquaculture on freshwater ecosystems are determined by multiple farming and environmental variables, and thus, the assessment of a wide range of abiotic and biotic variables enables better understanding of the impacts generated by this nutrient source. This study was carried out at Castanhão reservoir located in the State of Ceará, which is the largest Brazilian producer of Nile tilapia in cage systems, wherein about 8000 reservoirs provide a vast area to expand not only this important socio-economic but also pollution-prone activity. Nutrient mass budget, water quality monitoring, hydrodynamic characterization, and elemental/stable isotopic composition of end-member products were measured in cage aquaculture and other reservoir areas in order to determine the relative effects on reservoir conditions. Nutrient budgets showed that 34% of the artificial feed was lost to the water column but water quality monitoring and isotopic composition analysis suggested that the cages were not extensively impacting the water quality probably because of the physiographic and hydrodynamic features of the cage site. PMID:26502728

One of the most frequently asked questions to those striving to secure sustainable corn (Zea mays L.) stover feedstock supplies for Iowa’s new bioenergy conversion facilities is “what quantity of nutrients will be removed if I harvest my stover?”. Our objective is to summarize six years of field res...

For more than 100 years the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has supported the generation and compilation of food composition data. Today the Agricultural Research Service, USDA develops and maintains the National Nutrient Data Bank, a repository of food composition data which provides the founda...

A 36-item Short Diet Questionnaire (SDQ) was developed to assess usual consumption frequencies of foods providing fats, fibre, calcium, vitamin D, in addition to fruits and vegetables. It was pretested among 30 community-dwelling participants from the Québec Longitudinal Study on Nutrition and Successful Aging, "NuAge" (n = 1793, 52.4% women), recruited in three age groups (70 ± 2 years; 75 ± 2 years; 80 ± 2 years). Following revision, the SDQ was administered to 527 NuAge participants (55% female), distributed among the three age groups, both sexes and languages (French, English) prior to the second of three non-consecutive 24 h diet recalls (24HR) and validated relative to the mean of three 24HR. Full data were available for 396 participants. Most SDQ nutrients and fruit and vegetable servings were lower than 24HR estimates (p < 0.05) except calcium, vitamin D, and saturated and trans fats. Spearman correlations between the SDQ and 24HR were modest and significant (p < 0.01), ranging from 0.19 (cholesterol) to 0.45 (fruits and vegetables). Cross-classification into quartiles showed 33% of items were jointly classified into identical quartiles of the distribution, 73% into identical and contiguous quartiles, and only 7% were frankly misclassified. The SDQ is a reasonably accurate, rapid approach for ranking usual frequencies of selected nutrients and foods. Further testing is needed in a broader age range. PMID:26247965

A 36-item Short Diet Questionnaire (SDQ) was developed to assess usual consumption frequencies of foods providing fats, fibre, calcium, vitamin D, in addition to fruits and vegetables. It was pretested among 30 community-dwelling participants from the Québec Longitudinal Study on Nutrition and Successful Aging, “NuAge” (n = 1793, 52.4% women), recruited in three age groups (70 ± 2 years; 75 ± 2 years; 80 ± 2 years). Following revision, the SDQ was administered to 527 NuAge participants (55% female), distributed among the three age groups, both sexes and languages (French, English) prior to the second of three non-consecutive 24 h diet recalls (24HR) and validated relative to the mean of three 24HR. Full data were available for 396 participants. Most SDQ nutrients and fruit and vegetable servings were lower than 24HR estimates (p < 0.05) except calcium, vitamin D, and saturated and trans fats. Spearman correlations between the SDQ and 24HR were modest and significant (p < 0.01), ranging from 0.19 (cholesterol) to 0.45 (fruits and vegetables). Cross-classification into quartiles showed 33% of items were jointly classified into identical quartiles of the distribution, 73% into identical and contiguous quartiles, and only 7% were frankly misclassified. The SDQ is a reasonably accurate, rapid approach for ranking usual frequencies of selected nutrients and foods. Further testing is needed in a broader age range. PMID:26247965

This study aimed to evaluate the nutrient digestibility of growing rabbits fed diets with different levels of either Leucaena leucocephala (LLM) or Moringa oleifera (MOLM) leaf meals and also to compare total collection and TiO2 marker methods for estimating digestibility. A total of 30 California growing rabbits (1.81±0.19 kg live weight on average) were randomly distributed into five experimental groups of six rabbits each and were housed in individual cages. The groups were control, 30% LLM, 40% LLM, 30% MOLM, and 40% MOLM. All groups received pelleted diets for two weeks; diets also contained 4 g/kg titanium dioxide as dietary marker. Daily feed intake was recorded during the whole experimental period and total feces were collected daily and weighed individually during four days. The results showed that there were no difference (p>0.05) in feed, dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), digestible energy, and crude fiber (CF) intake between the control group and the other experimental groups. The apparent digestibility values of DM, OM, CP, CF, acid detergent fiber, and gross energy were the highest for control group (p = 0.001), meanwhile MOLM diets had generally higher nutrient digestibility coefficients than LLM diets. Increasing the inclusion level of leaf meal in the diet from 30% to 40% improved the digestibility of CF from 45.02% to 51.69% for LLM and from 48.11% to 55.89% for MOLM. Similar results for apparent nutrient digestibility coefficients were obtained when either total collection or indigestible marker method was used. In conclusion, the digestibility of MOLM containing diets were better than LLM diets, furthermore TiO2 as an external marker could be used as a simple, practical and reliable method to estimatenutrients digestibility in rabbit diets. PMID:26104524

This study aimed to evaluate the nutrient digestibility of growing rabbits fed diets with different levels of either Leucaena leucocephala (LLM) or Moringa oleifera (MOLM) leaf meals and also to compare total collection and TiO2 marker methods for estimating digestibility. A total of 30 California growing rabbits (1.81±0.19 kg live weight on average) were randomly distributed into five experimental groups of six rabbits each and were housed in individual cages. The groups were control, 30% LLM, 40% LLM, 30% MOLM, and 40% MOLM. All groups received pelleted diets for two weeks; diets also contained 4 g/kg titanium dioxide as dietary marker. Daily feed intake was recorded during the whole experimental period and total feces were collected daily and weighed individually during four days. The results showed that there were no difference (p>0.05) in feed, dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), digestible energy, and crude fiber (CF) intake between the control group and the other experimental groups. The apparent digestibility values of DM, OM, CP, CF, acid detergent fiber, and gross energy were the highest for control group (p = 0.001), meanwhile MOLM diets had generally higher nutrient digestibility coefficients than LLM diets. Increasing the inclusion level of leaf meal in the diet from 30% to 40% improved the digestibility of CF from 45.02% to 51.69% for LLM and from 48.11% to 55.89% for MOLM. Similar results for apparent nutrient digestibility coefficients were obtained when either total collection or indigestible marker method was used. In conclusion, the digestibility of MOLM containing diets were better than LLM diets, furthermore TiO2 as an external marker could be used as a simple, practical and reliable method to estimatenutrients digestibility in rabbit diets. PMID:26104524

The purpose of this presentation is to brief meeting participants on the "Centers for Water Research on National Priorities Related to a Systems View of Nutrient Management" solicitation's components, objectives and goals.

Nutrients have the capacity to change cyanobacterial toxin loads via growth-related toxin production, or shifts in the dominance of toxic and nontoxic strains. This study examined the effect of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus on cell division and strain-related changes in production of the toxins, cylindrospermopsins (CYNs) by the cyanobacterium, Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii. Two short-term experiments were conducted with mixed phytoplankton populations dominated by C. raciborskii in a subtropical reservoir where treatments had nitrate (NO3 ), urea (U) and inorganic phosphorus (P) added alone or in combination. Cell division rates of C. raciborskii were only statistically higher than the control on day 5 when U and P were co-supplied. In contrast, cell quotas of CYNs (QCYNS ) increased significantly in treatments where P was supplied, irrespective of whether N was supplied, and this increase was not necessarily related to cell division rates. Increased QCYNS did correlate with an increase in the proportion of the cyrA toxin gene to 16S genes in the C. raciborskii-dominated cyanobacterial population. Therefore, changes in strain dominance are the most likely factor driving differences in toxin production between treatments. Our study has demonstrated differential effects of nutrients on cell division and strain dominance reflecting a C. raciborskii population with a range of strategies in response to environmental conditions. PMID:24735048

Based on the raw data from the Spanish intake, have made the necessary changes and groupings to establish nutritional content per serving as percentages, regarding the total daily intake of each individual surveyed (n = 3000). Also, it was found the effect of the rating factors (sex, age and location) on the distribution of these percentages. The result indicates that individuals below 25 year should be considered as different groups, front those above that age; and locality effect (treated as random factor rather than fixed) causes differences in the distribution of nutrients between food daily intakes. However, the sex was was not relevant to the anecdotal footage found in statistically significant differences. Percentage distribution of individual nutrients between different food outlets is proposed. PMID:26040379

In order to evaluate the main source of nutrients for maintaining the high production in shellfish farming bay, we have measured (222)Rn activities and the concentrations of nutrients in stream water, seawater, and coastal groundwater around Geoje Bay, one of the largest cultivation areas of oyster in the southern sea of Korea in April 2013. Using the (222)Rn and Si mass balance model, the residence time of bay seawater was about 5days and the submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) into the bay was estimated to be approximately 1.8×10(6)m(3) d(-1). The SGD-derived nutrient fluxes contributed approximately 54% for DIN, 5% for DIP, and 50% for DSi of total nutrient input entering into the bay. Thus, our results suggest that SGD is the major source of nutrients in Geoje Bay, and SGD-derived nutrients are very important to support the biological production of this shellfish farming bay. PMID:27377001

Two contrasting strategies of plants from disturbed areas are reported to depend on nutrient availability. Resprouters, investing into storage and capable of vegetative regeneration after disturbance, are predicted to be enhanced in nutrient poor environments. This contrasts to seeders, which invest preferentially into seed production and regenerating only from seeds, and are thought to prevail in nutrient rich environments. To test such predicted dichotomy, we set up an experiment with two facultative resprouters with contrasting nutrient demands and assessed the fitness of individuals regenerated from seeds and root fragments in differently productive environments. We hypothesized that 1) plants with higher nutrient demands have a higher fitness as seeders irrespectable of nutrient availability and/or 2) both species will have a higher fitness as resprouters under lower nutrient availability and as seeders when nutrient availability is higher. Nutrient availability was also manipulated prior to and after disturbance to evaluate the impact of changing nutrient availability on the strategy of resprouting. The results of our pot experiment with Plantago lanceolata and Plantago media supported the first but not the second hypothesis. Moreover, high nutrient availability prior to disturbance negatively affected resprouting success, but the growth and fitness of successfully regenerated individuals were enhanced under higher nutrient availability. We concluded that resprouting from roots after disturbance is affected by nutrient availability, but this effect considerably differs between individual life-history stages.

Previous systematic reviews on the relation between overweight or obesity and breakfast focused on the frequency of consumption and only partially accounted for breakfast nutritional profiles. Given the central role of these factors, we conducted a systematic review of the literature on this putative relation, with a specific focus on breakfast energy intake and/or breakfast composition. Among the 814 articles identified from the literature search in PubMed, 19, mostly cross-sectional, studies met the inclusion criteria (i.e., studies providing a quantitative estimate of the relation between any measure of weight, overweight, and obesity and breakfast energy intake or breakfast macronutrient composition). We excluded studies in subjects with acquired metabolic disorders, such as diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. Of the 16 studies that evaluated the amount of energy intake at breakfast, 4 found that a lower energy intake at breakfast was significantly associated with obesity in children, adolescents, and adults, whereas 2 partially overlapping studies found that a higher energy intake was significantly associated with a higher body mass index in children. Of the 8 studies investigating breakfast composition, 3 suggested that a breakfast characterized by a higher amount of carbohydrates and a lower amount of fat is significantly related to normal weight in adults, whereas the others reported mixed results. In conclusion, there is some evidence that a lower energy intake at breakfast is related to obesity, although the studies are few and heterogeneous. Studies on the nutrient composition of breakfast have shown inconsistent results. PMID:27184273

ERDEM is a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model with a graphical user interface (GUI) front end. Such a mathematical model was needed to make reliable estimates of the chemical dose to organs of animals or humans because of uncertainties of making route-to route, lo...

Soil fertility and nutrient-related plant functional traits are in general only moderately related, hindering the progress in trait-based prediction models of vegetation patterns. Although the relationships may have been obscured by suboptimal choices in how soil fertility is expressed, there has never been a systematic investigation into the suitability of fertility measures. This study, therefore, examined the effect of different soil fertility measures on the strength of fertility-trait relationships in 134 natural plant communities. In particular, for eight plot-mean traits we examined (1) whether different elements (N or P) have contrasting or shared influences, (2) which timescale of fertility measures (e.g. mineralization rates for one or five years) has better predictive power, and (3) if integrated fertility measures explain trait variation better than individual fertility measures. Soil N and P had large mutual effects on leaf nutrient concentrations, whereas they had element-specific effects on traits related to species composition (e.g. Grime's CSR strategy). The timescale of fertility measures only had a minor impact on fertility-trait relationships. Two integrated fertility measures (one reflecting overall fertility, another relative availability of soil N and P) were related significantly to most plant traits, but were not better in explaining trait variation than individual fertility measures. Using all fertility measures together, between-site variations of plant traits were explained only moderately for some traits (e.g. 33% for leaf N concentrations) but largely for others (e.g. 66% for whole-canopy P concentration). The moderate relationships were probably due to complex regulation mechanisms of fertility on traits, rather than to a wrong choice of fertility measures. We identified both mutual (i.e. shared) and divergent (i.e. element-specific and stoichiometric) effects of soil N and P on traits, implying the importance of explicitly

Soil fertility and nutrient-related plant functional traits are in general only moderately related, hindering the progress in trait-based prediction models of vegetation patterns. Although the relationships may have been obscured by suboptimal choices in how soil fertility is expressed, there has never been a systematic investigation into the suitability of fertility measures. This study, therefore, examined the effect of different soil fertility measures on the strength of fertility–trait relationships in 134 natural plant communities. In particular, for eight plot-mean traits we examined (1) whether different elements (N or P) have contrasting or shared influences, (2) which timescale of fertility measures (e.g. mineralization rates for one or five years) has better predictive power, and (3) if integrated fertility measures explain trait variation better than individual fertility measures. Soil N and P had large mutual effects on leaf nutrient concentrations, whereas they had element-specific effects on traits related to species composition (e.g. Grime's CSR strategy). The timescale of fertility measures only had a minor impact on fertility–trait relationships. Two integrated fertility measures (one reflecting overall fertility, another relative availability of soil N and P) were related significantly to most plant traits, but were not better in explaining trait variation than individual fertility measures. Using all fertility measures together, between-site variations of plant traits were explained only moderately for some traits (e.g. 33% for leaf N concentrations) but largely for others (e.g. 66% for whole-canopy P concentration). The moderate relationships were probably due to complex regulation mechanisms of fertility on traits, rather than to a wrong choice of fertility measures. We identified both mutual (i.e. shared) and divergent (i.e. element-specific and stoichiometric) effects of soil N and P on traits, implying the importance of explicitly

Background Dietary intake assessment with diet records (DR) is a standard research and practice tool in nutrition. Manual entry and analysis of DR is time-consuming and expensive. New electronic tools for diet entry by clients and research participants may reduce the cost and effort of nutrient intake estimation. Objective To determine the validity of electronic diet recording, we compared responses to 3-day DR kept by Tap & Track software for the Apple iPod Touch and records kept on the Nutrihand website to DR coded and analyzed by a research dietitian into a customized US Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient analysis program, entitled GRAND (Grand Forks Research Analysis of Nutrient Data). Methods Adult participants (n=19) enrolled in a crossover-designed clinical trial. During each of two washout periods, participants kept a written 3-day DR. In addition, they were randomly assigned to enter their DR in a Web-based dietary analysis program (Nutrihand) or a handheld electronic device (Tap & Track). They completed an additional 3-day DR and the alternate electronic diet recording methods during the second washout. Entries resulted in 228 daily diet records or 12 for each of 19 participants. Means of nutrient intake were calculated for each method. Concordance of the intake estimates were determined by Bland-Altman plots. Coefficients of determination (R 2) were calculated for each comparison to assess the strength of the linear relationship between methods. Results No significant differences were observed between the mean nutrient values for energy, carbohydrate, protein, fat, saturated fatty acids, total fiber, or sodium between the recorded DR analyzed in GRAND and either Nutrihand or Tap & Track, or for total sugars comparing GRAND and Tap & Track. Reported values for total sugars were significantly reduced (P

An innovative approach currently is underway in Kansas to estimate and monitoring constituent concentrations in streams. Continuous in-stream water-quality monitors are installed at selected U.S. Geological Survey stream-gaging stations to provide real-time measurement of specific conductance, pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and total chlorophyll. In addition, periodic water samples are collected manually and analyzed for nutrients, bacteria, and other constituents of concern. Regression equations then are developed from measurements made by the water-quality monitors and analytical results of manually collected samples. These regression equations are used to estimatenutrient, bacteria, and other constituent concentrations. Concentrations then are available to calculate loads and yields to further assess water quality in watersheds. The continuous and real-time nature of the data may be important when considering recreational use of a water body; developing and monitoring total maximum daily loads; adjusting water-treatment strategies; and determining high constituent concentrations in time to prevent adverse effects on fish or other aquatic life.

Biscayne Bay is an oligotrophic, subtropical estuary located along the southeastern coast of Florida that provides habitat for a variety of plant and animal life. Concern has arisen with regard to the ecological health of Biscayne Bay because of the presence of nutrient-laden discharges from the east coast canals that drain into the bay. This concern, as well as planned diversion of discharges for ecosystem restoration from the urban and agricultural corridors of Miami-Dade County to Everglades National Park, served as the impetus for a study conducted during the 1996 and 1997 water years to estimatenutrient loads discharged from the east coast canals into Biscayne Bay. Analytical results indicated that the highest concentration of any individual nutrient sampled for in the study was 4.38 mg/L (milligrams per liter) for nitrate at one site, and the lowest concentrations determined were below the detection limits for orthophosphate at six sites and nitrite at four sites. Median concentrations for all the sites were 0.75 mg/L for total organic nitrogen, 0.10 mg/L for ammonia, 0.02 mg/L for nitrite, 0.18 mg/L for nitrate, 0.20 mg/L for nitrite plus nitrate nitrogen, 0.02 mg/L for total phosphorus, and 0.005 mg/L for orthophosphate. The maximum total phosphorus concentration of 0.31 mg/L was the only nutrient concentration to exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1986) water-quality criteria. High concentrations of total phosphorus usually reflect contamination as a result of human activities. Five sites exceeded the fresh-water quality standard of 0.5 mg/L for ammonia concentration as determined by the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management. Median total organic nitrogen concentrations were higher in urban and forested/wetland areas than in agricultural areas; median concentrations of nitrite, nitrate, and nitrite plus nitrate nitrogen were higher in agricultural areas than in urban and forested/wetland areas; and ammonia, total

A number of considerations must go into the process of determining the risk of deleterious effects of space radiation to travelers. Among them are (1) determination of the components of the radiation environment (particle species, fluxes and energy spectra) which will encounter, (2) determination of the effects of shielding provided by the spacecraft and the bodies of the travelers which modify the incident particle spectra and mix of particles, and (3) determination of relevant biological effects of the radiation in the organs of interest. The latter can then lead to an estimation of risk from a given space scenario. Clearly, the process spans many scientific disciplines from solar and cosmic ray physics to radiation transport theeory to the multistage problem of the induction by radiation of initial lesions in living material and their evolution via physical, chemical, and biological processes at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels to produce the end point of importance.

A number of considerations must go into the process of determining the risk of deleterious effects of space radiation to travelers. Among them are (1) determination of the components of the radiation environment (particle species, fluxes and energy spectra) which will encounter, (2) determination of the effects of shielding provided by the spacecraft and the bodies of the travelers which modify the incident particle spectra and mix of particles, and (3) determination of relevant biological effects of the radiation in the organs of interest. The latter can then lead to an estimation of risk from a given space scenario. Clearly, the process spans many scientific disciplines from solar and cosmic ray physics to radiation transport theeory to the multistage problem of the induction by radiation of initial lesions in living material and their evolution via physical, chemical, and biological processes at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels to produce the end point of importance.

Two studies are reported; a pilot study to demonstrate feasibility followed by a larger validity study. Study 1’s objective was to test the effect of two ecological momentary assessment (EMA) approaches that varied in intensity on the validity/accuracy of estimating energy intake with the Remote Food Photography Method (RFPM) over six days in free-living conditions. When using the RFPM, Smartphones are used to capture images of food selection and plate waste and to send the images to a server for food intake estimation. Consistent with EMA, prompts are sent to the Smartphones reminding participants to capture food images. During Study 1, energy intake estimated with the RFPM and the gold standard, doubly labeled water (DLW), were compared. Participants were assigned to receive Standard EMA Prompts (n=24) or Customized Prompts (n=16) (the latter received more reminders delivered at personalized meal times). The RFPM differed significantly from DLW at estimating energy intake when Standard (mean±SD = −895±770 kcal/day, pestimate energy intake in free-living adults (N=50) over six days, and energy and nutrient intake in laboratory-based meals. The RFPM did not differ significantly from DLW at estimating free-living energy intake (−152±694 kcal/day, p=0.16). During laboratory-based meals, estimating energy and macronutrient intake with the RFPM did not differ significantly compared to directly weighed intake. PMID:22134199

An analysis of existing nutrient, habitat, basin-characteristics, and biological-community (fish and invertebrate) data assessed significant relations between nutrients and biological data. Data from 1998 through 2000 for 58 sites in the Upper Wabash River Basin, Lower Wabash River Basin, and tributaries to the Great Lakes and Ohio River Basins were analyzed. Correspondence analysis was used to assess significant relations among nutrients, habitat, basin-characteristics, and biological-community data. Canonical correspondence analysis was used to identify which environmental parameters most influenced the biological communities. When all 58 sites were assessed, six biological-community attributes, metric scores, or site scores were statistically sigificant but weak. When a subset of data was analyzed for eight headwater streams in one ecoregion to minimize the naturally occurring variability associated with the 58 sites, the strength of the relations increased and 24 attributes, metric scores, or site scores were significantly related. Fish-community composition in the 58 sites was most influenced by habitat and land use but not by nutrients. The invertebrate-community composition in the 58 sites was most influenced by habitat, land use, soils, and one nutrient (total Kjeldahl nitrogen [TKN]).

This lecture will provide a bridge from the physical energy or LET spectra as might be calculated in an organ to the risk of carcinogenesis, a particular concern for extended missions to the moon or beyond to Mars. Topics covered will include (1) LET spectra expected from galactic cosmic rays, (2) probabilities that individual cell nuclei in the body will be hit by heavy galactic cosmic ray particles, (3) the conventional methods of calculating risks from a mixed environment of high and low LET radiation, (4) an alternate method which provides certain advantages using fluence-related risk coefficients (risk cross sections), and (5) directions for future research and development of these ideas.

A consistent and pervasive pattern of nutrient enrichment was substantiated by water-quality sampling in the Quinebaug River and its tributaries in eastern Connecticut during water years 2000 and 2001. Median total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?s recently recommended regional ambient water-qual-ity criteria for streams (0.71 and 0.031 milligrams per liter, respectively). Maximum total phosphorus concentrations exceeded 0.1 milligrams per liter at nearly half the sampled locations in the Quinebaug River Basin. Elevated total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations were measured at all stations on the mainstem of the Quinebaug River, the French River, and the Little River. Nutrient enrichment was related to municipal wastewater point sources at the sites on the mainstem of the Quinebaug River and French River, and to agricultural nonpoint nutrient sources in the Little River Basin. Nutrient enrichment and favorable physical factors have resulted in excessive, nuisance algal blooms during summer months, particularly in the numerous impoundments in the Quinebaug River system. Phytoplankton algal density as high as 85,000 cells per milliliter was measured during such nuisance blooms in water years 2000 and 2001. Different hydrologic conditions during the summers of 2000 and 2001 produced very different seston algal populations. Larger amounts of precipitation sustained higher streamflows in the summer of 2000 (than in 2001), which resulted in lower total algal abundance and inhibited the typical algal succession from diatoms to cyanobacteria. Despite this, nearly half of all seston chlorophyll-a concentrations measured during this study exceeded the recommended regional ambient stream-water-quality criterion (3.75 micrograms per liter), and seston chlorophyll-a concentrations as large as 42 micrograms per liter were observed in wastewa-ter-receiving reaches of the Quinebaug River. Estimates of primary

There have been enormous advances in the past decade for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD); however, these treatments are expensive and require frequent follow-up and injections which place a tremendous burden on both the healthcare system and patients. Consequently, there remains considerable interest in preventing or slowing the progression of AMD requiring treatment. Epidemiological studies have shown that diet is a modifiable AMD risk factor, and nutrient modification is a particularly appealing treatment for AMD due to the perceived universal benefit and relatively low expense. Recently, the age-related eye disease study part two (AREDS2) was concluded and demonstrated further benefit with the addition of lutein and zeaxanthin as a replacement for the β-carotene of the previous generation formulation. The addition of omega-3 essential fatty acids did not show an added benefit. This review aims to highlight some of the evidenced based body of knowledge that has been accumulated from recent studies regarding the use of nutritional supplements and their effect on AMD, cataracts, and dry eyes. PMID:25709776

Gut immunology encompasses the need for local cellular immunity and prevention of systemic immune reactions to dietary antigens. The relation between these factors and nutritional state or the presence of luminal nutrients in the enterally fed and parenterally fed is poorly defined. Most studies suggest that acquisition of lymphoid characteristics is independent of luminal nutrition and its responsiveness is related more to bacterial challenge. Protein malnutrition may impair immune responsiveness by moderating the generalised inflammatory response, rather than through reduced T cell function and IgA synthesis. Predisposition to the development of gut hypersensitivity can be induced in animals by longterm feeding with elemental diets. The efficient absorption of these diets reduces the caecal microflora burden and together with changed gastric acid secretion and small bowel motility, may affect the composition of the gut flora. Changed luminal nutrition, enhanced tissue damage and inappropriately increased mucosal T cell function may thus be related. The clinical effectiveness, however, of elemental diets in treatment of unresponsive coeliac disease is reassuring. To investigate intestinal immunity in humans, an approach based on whole gut lavage has been developed. Data from this non-invasive human technique will prove to be a useful means of assessing the effects of nutritional rehabilitation on mucosal immunity. PMID:8125382

While most milk leaves the farm as a desirable end product, manure has different fates – both desirable and undesirable. The desirable outcomes are those in which nutrients stay on the farm to help produce more feed and milk; and the undesirable outcomes are those in which nutrients enter the enviro...

Reduction of nitrogen inputs to estuaries can be achieved by the control of agricultural, atmospheric, and urban sources. We use the USGS MRB1 SPARROW model to estimate reductions necessary to decrease nitrogen loads to estuaries by 10%. As a first approximation we looked at s...

study exceeded the preliminary U.S. Environmental Protection Agency nutrient criteria values for the coastal region of New England. In an effort to establish more appropriate nutrient and chlorophyll criteria for streams in the New England coastal region, relations between total nitrogen and total phosphorus to periphyton chlorophyll a in wadeable streams from this study were quantified to present potential techniques for determining nutrient concentrations. Linear regression was used to estimate the total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations that corresponded to various chlorophyll a concentrations. On the basis of this relation, a median concentration for moderately enriched streams of 21 milligrams per square meter (mg/m2) of periphyton chlorophyll a from the literature corresponded to estimated concentrations of 1.3 milligrams per liter (mg/L) for total nitrogen and 0.12 mg/L for total phosphorus. The median concentration for periphyton chlorophyll a from the literature is similar to the 50th-percentile concentration of periphyton chlorophyll a (17 mg/m2) calculated with the data from open-canopy sites in this study. The 25th-percentile concentration for periphyton chlorophyll a of all open-canopy sites (5.2 mg/m2) and the 75th-percentile concentration for periphyton chlorophyll a of open-canopy reference sites (16 mg/m2) also were plotted to provide additional estimates and methods for developing total nitrogen and total phosphorus criteria. The 25th-percentile concentrations of total nitrogen and total phosphorus were calculated based on all sites in this study and were used as another potential criteria estimation. A concentration of 0.64 mg/L for total nitrogen and 0.030 mg/L for total phosphorus were calculated. As another possible method to develop threshold concentrations, the 10th-percentile concentrations of total nitrogen and total phosphorus were calculated based on all the impaired sites in this study. A concentration threshold of 0

The Myakka and Peace River Basins constitute more than 60 percent of the total inflow area and contribute more than half the total tributary inflow to the Charlotte Harbor estuarine system. Water discharge and nutrient enrichment have been identified as significant concerns in the estuary, and consequently, it is important to accurately estimate the magnitude of discharges and nutrient loads transported by inflows from both rivers. Two methods for estimating discharge and nutrient loads from tidally affected reaches of the Myakka and Peace Rivers were compared. The first method was a tidal-estimation method, in which discharge and nutrient loads were estimated based on stage, water-velocity, discharge, and water-quality data collected near the mouths of the rivers. The second method was a traditional basin-ratio method in which discharge and nutrient loads at the mouths were estimated from discharge and loads measured at upstream stations. Stage and water-velocity data were collected near the river mouths by submersible instruments, deployed in situ, and discharge measurements were made with an acoustic Doppler current profiler. The data collected near the mouths of the Myakka River and Peace River were filtered, using a low-pass filter, to remove daily mixed-tide effects with periods less than about 2 days. The filtered data from near the river mouths were used to calculate daily mean discharge and nutrient loads. These tidal-estimation-method values were then compared to the basin-ratio-method values. Four separate 30-day periods of differing streamflow conditions were chosen for monitoring and comparison. Discharge and nutrient load estimates computed from the tidal-estimation and basin-ratio methods were most similar during high-flow periods. However, during high flow, the values computed from the tidal-estimation method for the Myakka and Peace Rivers were consistently lower than the values computed from the basin-ratio method. There were substantial

The effect of decreasing aragonite saturation state (ΩArag) of seawater (elevated pCO2) on calcification rates of Acropora muricata was studied using nubbins prepared from parent colonies located at two sites of La Saline reef (La Réunion Island, western Indian Ocean): a back-reef site (BR) affected by nutrient-enriched groundwater discharge (mainly nitrate), and a reef flat site (RF) with low terrigenous inputs. Protein and chlorophyll a content of the nubbins, as well as zooxanthellae abundance, were lower at RF than BR. Nubbins were incubated at ~27°C over 2 h under sunlight, in filtered seawater manipulated to get differing initial pCO2 (1,440-340 μatm), ΩArag (1.4-4.0), and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations (2,100-1,850 μmol kg-1). Increasing DIC concentrations at constant total alkalinity (AT) resulted in a decrease in ΩArag and an increase in pCO2. AT at the beginning of the incubations was kept at a natural level of 2,193 ± 6 μmol kg-1 (mean ± SD). Net photosynthesis (NP) and calcification were calculated from changes in pH and AT during the incubations. Calcification decrease in response to doubling pCO2 relative to preindustrial level was 22% for RF nubbins. When normalized to surface area of the nubbins, (1) NP and calcification were higher at BR than RF, (2) NP increased in high pCO2 treatments at BR compared to low pCO2 treatments, and (3) calcification was not related to ΩArag at BR. When normalized to NP, calcification was linearly related to ΩArag at both sites, and the slopes of the relationships were not significantly different. The increase in NP at BR in the high pCO2 treatments may have increased calcification and thus masked the negative effect of low ΩArag on calcification. Removing the effect of NP variations at BR showed that calcification declined in a similar manner with decreased ΩArag (increased pCO2) whatever the nutrient loading.

Data collected between 1997 and 2008 at 48 stream sites were used to characterize relations between watershed settings and stream nutrient yields throughout central and eastern North Carolina. The focus of the investigation was to identify environmental variables in watersheds that influence nutrient export for supporting the development and prioritization of management strategies for restoring nutrient-impaired streams. Nutrient concentration data and streamflow data compiled for the 1997 to 2008 study period were used to compute stream yields of nitrate, total nitrogen (N), and total phosphorus (P) for each study site. Compiled environmental data (including variables for land cover, hydrologic soil groups, base-flow index, streams, wastewater treatment facilities, and concentrated animal feeding operations) were used to characterize the watershed settings for the study sites. Data for the environmental variables were analyzed in combination with the stream nutrient yields to explore relations based on watershed characteristics and to evaluate whether particular variables were useful indicators of watersheds having relatively higher or lower potential for exporting nutrients. Data evaluations included an examination of median annual nutrient yields based on a watershed land-use classification scheme developed as part of the study. An initial examination of the data indicated that the highest median annual nutrient yields occurred at both agricultural and urban sites, especially for urban sites having large percentages of point-source flow contributions to the streams. The results of statistical testing identified significant differences in annual nutrient yields when sites were analyzed on the basis of watershed land-use category. When statistical differences in median annual yields were noted, the results for nitrate, total N, and total P were similar in that highly urbanized watersheds (greater than 30 percent developed land use) and (or) watersheds with greater

The Eucha-Spavinaw basin is the source of water for Lake Eucha and Spavinaw Lake, which are part of the water supply for the City of Tulsa. The City of Tulsa has received complaints of taste and odor in the finished drinking water because of deteriorating water quality. The deterioration is largely because of algal growth from the input of nutrients from the Eucha-Spavinaw basin. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Tulsa, implemented a continuous, real-time water-quality monitoring program in the Eucha-Spavinaw basin to better understand the source of the nutrient loading. This program included the manual collection of samples analyzed for nutrients and the collection of continuous, in-stream data from water-quality monitors. Continuous water-quality monitors were installed at two existing continuous streamflow-gaging stations - Spavinaw Creek near Colcord, Oklahoma, and Beaty Creek near Jay, Oklahoma, from October 2004 through September 2007. Total nitrogen concentrations for manually collected water samples ranged from 2.08 to 9.66 milligrams per liter for the water samples collected from Spavinaw Creek near Colcord, Oklahoma, and from 0.67 to 5.12 milligrams per liter for manually collected water samples from Beaty Creek near Jay, Oklahoma. Total phosphorus concentrations ranged from 0.04 to 1.5 milligrams per liter for the water samples collected from Spavinaw Creek near Colcord and from 0.028 to 1.0 milligram per liter for the water samples collected from Beaty Creek near Jay. Data from water samples and in-stream monitors at Spavinaw and Beaty Creeks (specific conductance and turbidity) were used to develop linear regression equations relating in-stream water properties to total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations. The equations developed for the Spavinaw and Beaty sites are site specific and only valid for the concentration ranges of the explanatory variables used in the analysis. The range in estimated and measured

Global nutrient cycles have been altered by use of fossil fuels and fertilizers resulting in increases in nutrient loads to aquatic systems. In the United States, excess nutrients have been repeatedly reported as the primary cause of lake water quality impairments. Setting nutr...

Nutrient profiling (NP) is defined as the science of ranking foods according to their nutritional composition for the purpose of preventing disease or promoting health. The application of NP is ultimately to assist consumers to make healthier food choices, and thus provide a cost effective public health strategy to reduce the incidence of diet-related chronic disease. To our knowledge, no review has assessed the evidence to confirm the validity of NP models. We conducted a systematic review to investigate the construct and criterion-related validity of NP models in ranking food according to their nutritional composition for the purpose of preventing disease and promoting health. We searched peer-reviewed research published to 30 June 2015 and used PUBMED, Global Health (CABI), and SCOPUS databases. Within study bias was assessed using an adapted version of the QUADAS-2 (Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies -2) tool for all diagnostic studies and the Cochrane Collaboration's Risk of Bias tool for all non-diagnostic studies. The GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) approach was used to guide our judgement of the quality of the body of evidence for each outcome measure. From a total of 83 studies, 69 confirmed the construct validity of NP models; however most of these studies contained methodological weaknesses. Six studies used objective external measures to confirm the criterion-related validity of NP models; which inherently improved quality. The overall quality of evidence on the accuracy of NP models was judged to be very low to moderate using the GRADE approach. Many carefully designed studies to establish both construct and criterion-related validity are necessary to authenticate the application of NP models and provide the evidence to support the current definition of NP. PMID:26850312

Dust and pollution generation and transport have increasingly become the subject of scrutiny for their impacts on global climate, the ecosystem, and human health. Several recent regional and hemispheric scale campaigns were conducted to better characterize aerosol composition and transport. These campaigns include the 2001 Aerosol Characterization Experiment in Asia (ACE-Asia) and the Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Transformation Experiment of 2002 (ITCT-2K2). In addition, long-term sampling has been conducted at National Parks and Monuments across the United States as part of the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) program. These data provide a basis for estimating the transport and deposition of atmospheric particulate matter to the northern hemisphere oceans. Here we focus on the aerosol that is generated in Asia (i.e. compositionally distinct from North America and Europe) and transported across the Pacific Basin. The flux of aerosol from the source region from ACE-Asia data combined with data from receptor sites in North America from ACE-Asia, ITCT, and IMPROVE sampling are used to estimate oceanic deposition. A previously identified signature for Asian aerosol (VanCuren and Cahill, JGR December 2003) is used as a marker for transport. Comparison with direct deposition measurements is made.

We sampled 41 sites on 34 nonwadeable rivers that represent the types of rivers in Wisconsin, and the kinds and intensities of nutrient and other anthropogenic stressors upon each river type. Sites covered much of United States Environmental Protection Agency national nutrient ecoregions VII-Mostly Glaciated Dairy Region, and VIII-Nutrient Poor, Largely Glaciated upper Midwest. Fish, macroinvertebrates, and three categories of environmental variables including nutrients, other water chemistry, and watershed features were collected using standard protocols. We summarized fish assemblages by index of biotic integrity (IBI) and its 10 component measures, and macroinvertebrates by 2 organic pollution tolerance and 12 proportional richness measures. All biotic and environmental variables represented a wide range of conditions, with biotic measures ranging from poor to excellent status, despite nutrient concentrations being consistently higher than reference concentrations reported for the regions. Regression tree analyses of nutrients on a suite of biotic measures identified breakpoints in total phosphorus (~0.06 mg/l) and total nitrogen (~0.64 mg/l) concentrations at which biotic assemblages were consistently impaired. Redundancy analyses (RDA) were used to identify the most important variables within each of the three environmental variable categories, which were then used to determine the relative influence of each variable category on the biota. Nutrient measures, suspended chlorophyll a, water clarity, and watershed land cover type (forest or row-crop agriculture) were the most important variables and they explained significant amounts of variation within the macroinvertebrate (R 2 = 60.6%) and fish (R 2 = 43.6%) assemblages. The environmental variables selected in the macroinvertebrate model were correlated to such an extent that partial RDA analyses could not attribute variation explained to individual environmental categories, assigning 89% of the explained

We sampled 41 sites on 34 nonwadeable rivers that represent the types of rivers in Wisconsin, and the kinds and intensities of nutrient and other anthropogenic stressors upon each river type. Sites covered much of United States Environmental Protection Agency national nutrient ecoregions VII—Mostly Glaciated Dairy Region, and VIII—Nutrient Poor, Largely Glaciated upper Midwest. Fish, macroinvertebrates, and three categories of environmental variables including nutrients, other water chemistry, and watershed features were collected using standard protocols. We summarized fish assemblages by index of biotic integrity (IBI) and its 10 component measures, and macroinvertebrates by 2 organic pollution tolerance and 12 proportional richness measures. All biotic and environmental variables represented a wide range of conditions, with biotic measures ranging from poor to excellent status, despite nutrient concentrations being consistently higher than reference concentrations reported for the regions. Regression tree analyses of nutrients on a suite of biotic measures identified breakpoints in total phosphorus (~0.06 mg/l) and total nitrogen (~0.64 mg/l) concentrations at which biotic assemblages were consistently impaired. Redundancy analyses (RDA) were used to identify the most important variables within each of the three environmental variable categories, which were then used to determine the relative influence of each variable category on the biota. Nutrient measures, suspended chlorophyll a, water clarity, and watershed land cover type (forest or row-crop agriculture) were the most important variables and they explained significant amounts of variation within the macroinvertebrate ( R 2 = 60.6%) and fish ( R 2 = 43.6%) assemblages. The environmental variables selected in the macroinvertebrate model were correlated to such an extent that partial RDA analyses could not attribute variation explained to individual environmental categories, assigning 89% of the

We sampled 41 sites on 34 nonwadeable rivers that represent the types of rivers in Wisconsin, and the kinds and intensities of nutrient and other anthropogenic stressors upon each river type. Sites covered much of United States Environmental Protection Agency national nutrient ecoregions VII--Mostly Glaciated Dairy Region, and VIII--Nutrient Poor, Largely Glaciated upper Midwest. Fish, macroinvertebrates, and three categories of environmental variables including nutrients, other water chemistry, and watershed features were collected using standard protocols. We summarized fish assemblages by index of biotic integrity (IBI) and its 10 component measures, and macroinvertebrates by 2 organic pollution tolerance and 12 proportional richness measures. All biotic and environmental variables represented a wide range of conditions, with biotic measures ranging from poor to excellent status, despite nutrient concentrations being consistently higher than reference concentrations reported for the regions. Regression tree analyses of nutrients on a suite of biotic measures identified breakpoints in total phosphorus (approximately 0.06 mg/l) and total nitrogen (approximately 0.64 mg/l) concentrations at which biotic assemblages were consistently impaired. Redundancy analyses (RDA) were used to identify the most important variables within each of the three environmental variable categories, which were then used to determine the relative influence of each variable category on the biota. Nutrient measures, suspended chlorophyll a, water clarity, and watershed land cover type (forest or row-crop agriculture) were the most important variables and they explained significant amounts of variation within the macroinvertebrate (R(2) = 60.6%) and fish (R(2) = 43.6%) assemblages. The environmental variables selected in the macroinvertebrate model were correlated to such an extent that partial RDA analyses could not attribute variation explained to individual environmental categories

There is an active debate in the literature on censored data about the relative performance of model based maximum likelihood estimators, IPCW-estimators, and a variety of double robust semiparametric efficient estimators. Kang and Schafer (2007) demonstrate the fragility of double robust and IPCW-estimators in a simulation study with positivity violations. They focus on a simple missing data problem with covariates where one desires to estimate the mean of an outcome that is subject to missingness. Responses by Robins, et al. (2007), Tsiatis and Davidian (2007), Tan (2007) and Ridgeway and McCaffrey (2007) further explore the challenges faced by double robust estimators and offer suggestions for improving their stability. In this article, we join the debate by presenting targeted maximum likelihood estimators (TMLEs). We demonstrate that TMLEs that guarantee that the parametric submodel employed by the TMLE procedure respects the global bounds on the continuous outcomes, are especially suitable for dealing with positivity violations because in addition to being double robust and semiparametric efficient, they are substitution estimators. We demonstrate the practical performance of TMLEs relative to other estimators in the simulations designed by Kang and Schafer (2007) and in modified simulations with even greater estimation challenges. PMID:21931570

It was hypothesized that a person's estimates of the preventability of health problems would be related to health behaviors such that a person who engages in healthful behavior should make higher estimates of preventability. A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between causal attribution of health problems and health-related…

This study investigates the performances of different optical indices to estimate gross primary production (GPP) of herbaceous stratum in a Mediterranean savanna with different Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorous (P) availability. Sun-induced chlorophyll Fluorescence yield computed at 760 nm (Fy760), scaled-photochemical reflectance index (sPRI), MERIS terrestrial-chlorophyll index (MTCI) and Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were computed from near-surface field spectroscopy measurements collected using high spectral resolution spectrometers covering the visible near-infrared regions. GPP was measured using canopy-chambers on the same locations sampled by the spectrometers. We hypothesized that light-use efficiency (LUE) models driven by remote sensing quantities (RSM) can better track changes in GPP caused by nutrient supplies compared to those driven exclusively by meteorological data (MM). Particularly, we compared the performances of different RSM formulations - relying on the use of Fy760 or sPRI as proxy for LUE and NDVI or MTCI as fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fAPAR) - with those of classical MM. Results showed significantly higher GPP in the N fertilized experimental plots during the growing period. These differences in GPP disappeared in the drying period when senescence effects masked out potential differences due to plant N content. Consequently, although MTCI was tightly related to plant N content (r2 = 0.86, p < 0.01), it was poorly related to GPP (r2 = 0.45, p < 0.05). On the contrary sPRI and Fy760 correlated well with GPP during the whole measurement period. Results revealed that the relationship between GPP and Fy760 is not unique across treatments but it is affected by N availability. Results from a cross validation analysis showed that MM (AICcv = 127, MEcv = 0.879) outperformed RSM (AICcv = 140, MEcv = 0.8737) when soil moisture was used to constrain the seasonal dynamic of LUE. However, residual analyses

This study investigates the performances of different optical indices to estimate gross primary production (GPP) of herbaceous stratum in a Mediterranean savanna with different nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) availability. Sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence yield computed at 760 nm (Fy760), scaled photochemical reflectance index (sPRI), MERIS terrestrial-chlorophyll index (MTCI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were computed from near-surface field spectroscopy measurements collected using high spectral resolution spectrometers covering the visible near-infrared regions. GPP was measured using canopy chambers on the same locations sampled by the spectrometers. We tested whether light-use efficiency (LUE) models driven by remote-sensing quantities (RSMs) can better track changes in GPP caused by nutrient supplies compared to those driven exclusively by meteorological data (MM). Particularly, we compared the performances of different RSM formulations - relying on the use of Fy760 or sPRI as a proxy for LUE and NDVI or MTCI as a fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fAPAR) - with those of classical MM. Results showed higher GPP in the N-fertilized experimental plots during the growing period. These differences in GPP disappeared in the drying period when senescence effects masked out potential differences due to plant N content. Consequently, although MTCI was closely related to the mean of plant N content across treatments (r2 = 0.86, p < 0.01), it was poorly related to GPP (r2 = 0.45, p < 0.05). On the contrary sPRI and Fy760 correlated well with GPP during the whole measurement period. Results revealed that the relationship between GPP and Fy760 is not unique across treatments, but it is affected by N availability. Results from a cross-validation analysis showed that MM (AICcv = 127, MEcv = 0.879) outperformed RSM (AICcv =140, MEcv = 0.8737) when soil moisture was used to constrain the seasonal dynamic of LUE. However

The key to better nutrient efficiency is to simultaneously improve uptake and decrease losses. This study sought to achieve this balance using sorbent additions and manure nutrients (spent poultry litter; SL) compared with results obtained using conventional sources (Conv; urea nitrogen, N; and phosphate-phosphorus; P). Two experiments were conducted. Firstly, a phosphorus pot trial involving two soils (sandy and clay) based on a factorial design (Digitaria eriantha/Pennisetum clandestinum). Subsequently, a factorial N and P field trial was conducted on the clay soil (D. eriantha/Lolium rigidum). In the pot trial, sorbent additions (26.2g of hydrotalcite [HT] gP(-1)) to the Conv treatment deferred P availability (both soils) as did SL in the sandy soil. In this soil, P delivery by the Conv treatments declined rapidly, and began to fall behind the HT and SL treatments. Addition of HT increased post-trial Colwell P. In the field trial low HT-rates (3.75 and 7.5g of HTgP(-1)) plus bentonite, allowed dry matter production and nutrient uptake to match that of Conv treatments, and increased residual mineral-N. The SL treatments performed similarly to (or better than) Conv treatments regarding nutrient uptake. With successive application, HT forms may provide better supply profiles than Conv treatments. Our findings, combined with previous studies, suggest it is possible to use manures and ion-exchangers to match conventional N and P source productivity with lower risk of nutrient losses. PMID:27432730

Nutrient concentrations in a diet can be expressed either "as fed," relative to dry matter (DM), or relative to metabolizable energy (ME). Most published literature evaluates the diet of dolphins by comparing nutrient content relative to DM. Nevertheless, ME requirements, not DM, determine how much food dolphins need to maintain their body condition. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate why it is important to calculate the ME content of fish fed to dolphins and compare nutrient concentrations in dolphin diets relative to ME, not DM. Two studies that compared the nutrient composition of fish species on a DM basis were reevaluated. The ME content of each fish species was calculated and found to vary widely among species, from 0.94 to 1.58 Mcal/kg as fed. Water, mineral, and fat concentrations relative to ME also varied markedly among fish species. To demonstrate the magnitude of nutrient content differences between fish, the percent change in nutrient concentration for each species was calculated relative to herring. The percent changes for DM and ME analyses were then compared. Percent change in nutrient concentration was either over- or underestimated on a DM basis when compared with the percent change on an ME basis. Notable discrepancies were evident among important nutrients, such as crude protein, water, and sodium. Caretakers of managed dolphins must account for differences in energy density when deciding how much to feed and assessing the nutrient composition of the diet. PMID:26056869

Aquatic plants can use differential allocation (trade-off) of carbon among their structures depending on the nutrition concentration. Given that N and P are limiting in the growth of plants, our questions were: Are the N and P concentrations in S. auriculata related to the biomass allocation to its structures? Is a differential allocation of N and P between floating and submerged leaves? We evaluated the relation between the nutrients and the biomass allocation, and the trade-off among the leaves using the Spearman correlation. Our results showed that N and P concentrations in S. auriculata are related to the biomass allocation to its structures, and that there is no trade-off of these nutrients between "shoot and root". Thus, we can see the importance of N and P concentration in the biomass of S. auriculata, and why this plant is capable to development in different environments as a weedy. PMID:26959946

Swine waste land application has increased due to organic fertilization, but excess application in an arable system can cause environmental risk. Therefore, in situ characterizations of such resources are important prior to application. To explore this, 41 swine slurry samples were collected from Korea, and wide differences were observed in the physico-biochemical properties. However, significant (P<0.001) multiple property correlations (R²) were obtained between nutrients with specific gravity (SG), electrical conductivity (EC), total solids (TS) and pH. The different combinations of hydrometer, EC meter, drying oven and pH meter were found useful to estimate Mn, Fe, Ca, K, Al, Na, N and 5-day biochemical oxygen demands (BOD₅) at improved R² values of 0.83, 0.82, 0.77, 0.75, 0.67, 0.47, 0.88 and 0.70, respectively. The results from this study suggest that multiple property regressions can facilitate the prediction of micronutrients and organic matter much better than a single property regression for livestock waste. PMID:21767950

We have been sampling nutrient concentrations in 17 headwater streams within the South Fork Broad River (SFBR) watershed on a monthly basis since November 2001. The streams were classified as either developed (n=4), agriculture/pasture (n=4), mixed land use (n=6) or forested (n=3...

Litter decomposition in streams occurs as a function of microbial and invertebrate processing, as well as abiotic factors. Abiotic factors, such as streamwater nutrient concentrations, may change the relative importance of groups of microorganisms, as well as invertebrates, to leaf breakdown. We plan to quantify the relative contributions of bacteria, fungi, and invertebrate processing on decaying leaves in a reference and treatment stream (experimentally enriched with N & P for 4.5 yrs) at the Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research site in North Carolina, USA. Leaf packs of maple or rhododendron leaves were periodically retrieved to determine decay rates. Microbial activity was measured as respiration, fungal biomass was determined by measuring ergosterol concentration, and bacterial biomass was determined by epifluorescence microscopy. Breakdown rates were dramatically faster in the nutrient enriched stream than the reference stream, associated with greater microbial activity and presumably, invertebrate feeding. Based on whole-system response by microorganisms, we predict that nutrient enrichment will lead to greater contributions of fungi, relative to bacteria, to leaf breakdown. Our results show that enrichment can fundamentally alter the rate of organic matter breakdown in streams, and will test whether enrichment also changes the relative roles of groups of organisms contributing to breakdown processes.

A minimax estimator has the minimum possible error ("risk") in the worst case. We construct the first minimax estimators for quantum state tomography with relative entropy risk. The minimax risk of nonadaptive tomography scales as O (1 /√{N }) —in contrast to that of classical probability estimation, which is O (1 /N )—where N is the number of copies of the quantum state used. We trace this deficiency to sampling mismatch: future observations that determine risk may come from a different sample space than the past data that determine the estimate. This makes minimax estimators very biased, and we propose a computationally tractable alternative with similar behavior in the worst case, but superior accuracy on most states.

A minimax estimator has the minimum possible error ("risk") in the worst case. We construct the first minimax estimators for quantum state tomography with relative entropy risk. The minimax risk of nonadaptive tomography scales as O(1/sqrt[N])-in contrast to that of classical probability estimation, which is O(1/N)-where N is the number of copies of the quantum state used. We trace this deficiency to sampling mismatch: future observations that determine risk may come from a different sample space than the past data that determine the estimate. This makes minimax estimators very biased, and we propose a computationally tractable alternative with similar behavior in the worst case, but superior accuracy on most states. PMID:26991163

A computer program estimates the relative position and orientation of two structures from measurements, made by use of electronic cameras and laser range finders on one structure, of distances and angular positions of fiducial objects on the other structure. The program was written specifically for use in determining errors in the alignment of large structures deployed in outer space from a space shuttle. The program is based partly on equations for transformations among the various coordinate systems involved in the measurements and on equations that account for errors in the transformation operators. It computes a least-squares estimate of the relative position and orientation. Sequential least-squares estimates, acquired at a measurement rate of 4 Hz, are averaged by passing them through a fourth-order Butterworth filter. The program is executed in a computer aboard the space shuttle, and its position and orientation estimates are displayed to astronauts on a graphical user interface.

Beta diversity, the spatial or temporal variability of species composition, is a key concept in community ecology. However, our ability to predict the relative importance of the main drivers of beta diversity (e.g., environmental heterogeneity, dispersal limitation, and environmental productivity) remains limited. Using a comprehensive data set on stream invertebrate assemblages across the continental United States, we found a hump-shaped relationship between beta diversity and within-ecoregion nutrient concentrations. Within-ecoregion compositional dissimilarity matrices were mainly related to environmental distances in most of the 30 ecoregions analyzed, suggesting a stronger role for species-sorting than for spatial processes. The strength of these relationships varied considerably among ecoregions, but they were unrelated to within-ecoregion environmental heterogeneity or spatial extent. Instead, we detected a negative correlation between the strength of species sorting and nutrient concentrations. We suggest that eutrophication is a major mechanism disassembling invertebrate assemblages in streams at a continental scale. PMID:25039221

The Surprise is a measure for consistency between posterior distributions and operates in parameter space. It can be used to analyze either the compatibility of separately analyzed posteriors from two datasets, or the posteriors from a Bayesian update. The Surprise Calculator estimatesrelative entropy and Surprise between two samples, assuming they are Gaussian. The software requires the R package CompQuadForm to estimate the significance of the Surprise, and rpy2 to interface R with Python.

When GPS signal measurements have outliers, using least squares (LS) estimation is likely to give poor position estimates. One of the typical approaches to handle this problem is to use robust estimation techniques. We study the computational issues of Huber’s M-estimation applied to relative GPS positioning. First for code-based relative positioning, we use simulation results to show that Newton’s method usually converges faster than the iteratively reweighted least squares (IRLS) method, which is often used in geodesy for computing robust estimates of parameters. Then for code- and carrier-phase-based relative positioning, we present a recursive modified Newton method to compute Huber’s M-estimates of the positions. The structures of the model are exploited to make the method efficient, and orthogonal transformations are used to ensure numerical reliability of the method. Economical use of computer memory is also taken into account in designing the method. Simulation results show that the method is effective.

Commercial forestry plantations as a postmining land use in the Upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia are restricted by both the poor nutrient availability of mining substrates and low regional rainfall. An experiment was conducted to investigate whether municipal waste products and saline groundwater from coal mining operations could improve early tree growth without impacting on the environment through salt accumulation and/or nutrient enrichment and changes in groundwater quality. Potential impacts were investigated by quantifying the nutrient cycling dynamics within the plantation using an input - output mass balance approach for exchangeable calcium, exchangeable magnesium, exchangeable potassium, exchangeable sodium, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Measured inputs to and outputs from the available nutrient pool in the 0 - 30 cm of the overburden subsystem were used to estimate the net effect of unmeasured inputs and outputs (termed 'residuals'). Residual values in the mass balance of the irrigated treatments demonstrated large leaching losses of exchangeable Ca, Mg, K, and Na. Between 96% and 103% of Na applied in saline mine-water irrigation was leached below the 0-30-cm soil profile zone. The fate of these salts beyond 30 cm is unknown, but results suggest that irrigation with saline mine water had minimal impact on the substrate to 30 cm over the first 2 years since plantation establishment. Accumulations of N and P were detected for the substrate amendments, suggesting that organic amendments (particularly compost) retained the applied nutrients with very little associated losses, particularly through leaching.

Aquatic floating plants on BioHaven mats were tested for their potential use as a Best Management Practice to be incorporated within existing stormwater detention ponds. Plants were analyzed for their capability to remove nutrient-pollution in parallel with the study of ecological dynamics. Experiments were carried out in cylindrical mesocosms of 5 m diameter and 1.2 m height, above-ground pools with a water volume of 14 m(3). The design parameters tested were for 5% and 10% vegetated floating island coverage of the mesocosm, both with and without shoreline plants called littoral zone. This littoral shelf was 0.5 m thick, graded at a downward slope of 1:5 toward the center using loamy soil with low organic matter content, excavated from below turf grass. Endemic plant species were chosen for the experimental location in central Florida based on a wetland identification manual by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to ensure the study was not compromised by unique climate requirements of the plants. Nutrient and aquatic chemical conditions such as pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, turbidity, and chlorophyll a were monitored to understand their relationships to the general wetland ecosystem. Real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis identified the microbial activity near the rhizospheric zone. Logistical placement considerations were made using spatial sampling across the horizontal plane of the mesocosms, beneath and around the root zone, to determine if nutrients tend to aggregate around the floating island. This study concluded that the application of floating islands as a stormwater technology can remove nutrients through plant uptake and biological activity. The most cost-effective size in the outdoor mesocosms was 5% surface area coverage of the mat. PMID:22587952

Horizontal seismic data are utilized in a large number of Earth studies. Such work depends on the published orientations of the sensitive axes of seismic sensors relative to true North. These orientations can be estimated using a number of different techniques: SensOrLoc (Sensitivity, Orientation and Location), comparison to synthetics (Ekstrom and Busby, 2008), or by way of magnetic compass. Current methods for finding relative station azimuths are unable to do so with arbitrary precision quickly because of limitations in the algorithms (e.g. grid search methods). Furthermore, in order to determine instrument orientations during station visits, it is critical that any analysis software be easily run on a large number of different computer platforms and the results be obtained quickly while on site. We developed a new technique for estimatingrelative sensor azimuths by inverting for the orientation with the maximum correlation to a reference instrument, using a non-linear parameter estimation routine. By making use of overlapping windows, we are able to make multiple azimuth estimates, which helps to identify the confidence of our azimuth estimate, even when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is low. Finally, our algorithm has been written as a stand-alone, platform independent, Java software package with a graphical user interface for reading and selecting data segments to be analyzed.

Soft biometrics can be used as a prescreening filter, either by using single trait or by combining several traits to aid the performance of recognition systems in an unobtrusive way. In many practical visual surveillance scenarios, facial information becomes difficult to be effectively constructed due to several varying challenges. However, from distance the visual appearance of an object can be efficiently inferred, thereby providing the possibility of estimating body related information. This paper presents an approach for estimating body related soft biometrics; specifically we propose a new approach based on body measurement and artificial neural network for predicting body weight of subjects and incorporate the existing technique on single view metrology for height estimation in videos with low frame rate. Our evaluation on 1120 frame sets of 80 subjects from a newly compiled dataset shows that the mentioned soft biometric information of human subjects can be adequately predicted from set of frames. PMID:25121120

Soft biometrics can be used as a prescreening filter, either by using single trait or by combining several traits to aid the performance of recognition systems in an unobtrusive way. In many practical visual surveillance scenarios, facial information becomes difficult to be effectively constructed due to several varying challenges. However, from distance the visual appearance of an object can be efficiently inferred, thereby providing the possibility of estimating body related information. This paper presents an approach for estimating body related soft biometrics; specifically we propose a new approach based on body measurement and artificial neural network for predicting body weight of subjects and incorporate the existing technique on single view metrology for height estimation in videos with low frame rate. Our evaluation on 1120 frame sets of 80 subjects from a newly compiled dataset shows that the mentioned soft biometric information of human subjects can be adequately predicted from set of frames. PMID:25121120

Understanding the relationship between energy nutrients compositions in a diet and appetite-controlling substances is essential for providing sound advice to anyone attempting to control body weight. Appetite is known to be affected by various hormones, ghrelin and peptide tyrosine-tyrosine (PYY), which are related to the compositions of a diet. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of compositions of energy nutrients in the diet on the levels of postprandial appetite-related hormones and satiety in healthy adult women. Ten subjects (BMI: 18.5-22.9 kg/m2) were recruited and assigned to three iso-coloric breakfast meals with different compositions of energy nutrients, regular meal (RM, CHO: 60%, Pro: 20%, Fat: 20%), high protein meal (HPM, CHO: 30%, Pro: 50%, Fat: 20%), and high fat meal (HFM, CHO: 30%, Pro: 20%, Fat: 50%). Blood levels of ghrelin, PYY, insulin and leptin and satiety were assessed at baseline, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180 min following the consumption of each meal. There was no significant difference in the fasting blood hormones among the subjects taking each meals at baseline. Blood levels of ghrelin and insulin changed significantly following the consumption of each meal (p<0.05) over time, however no significant difference was shown between experimental meals until 180 min. Blood levels of PYY and leptin were not changed following the ingestion of each meals. In conclusion, the composition of energy nutrients in a diet had no effect on the postprandial plasma levels of ghrelin, PYY, insulin and leptin as well as satiety in healthy adult women. PMID:23430784

Understanding the relationship between energy nutrients compositions in a diet and appetite-controlling substances is essential for providing sound advice to anyone attempting to control body weight. Appetite is known to be affected by various hormones, ghrelin and peptide tyrosine-tyrosine (PYY), which are related to the compositions of a diet. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of compositions of energy nutrients in the diet on the levels of postprandial appetite-related hormones and satiety in healthy adult women. Ten subjects (BMI: 18.5-22.9 kg/m(2)) were recruited and assigned to three iso-coloric breakfast meals with different compositions of energy nutrients, regular meal (RM, CHO: 60%, Pro: 20%, Fat: 20%), high protein meal (HPM, CHO: 30%, Pro: 50%, Fat: 20%), and high fat meal (HFM, CHO: 30%, Pro: 20%, Fat: 50%). Blood levels of ghrelin, PYY, insulin and leptin and satiety were assessed at baseline, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180 min following the consumption of each meal. There was no significant difference in the fasting blood hormones among the subjects taking each meals at baseline. Blood levels of ghrelin and insulin changed significantly following the consumption of each meal (p<0.05) over time, however no significant difference was shown between experimental meals until 180 min. Blood levels of PYY and leptin were not changed following the ingestion of each meals. In conclusion, the composition of energy nutrients in a diet had no effect on the postprandial plasma levels of ghrelin, PYY, insulin and leptin as well as satiety in healthy adult women. PMID:23430784

The objective of this study was to relate algal-, invertebrate-, and fish-community composition to habitat, nutrients, and land-use variables in small streams in agriculturally dominated landscapes of the Midwest in Indiana and Ohio. Thirty sample locations were selected from a single ecoregion; all were small wadable streams within agriculturally dominated landscapes with similar substrate and canopy. Biological and nutrient samples were collected during stable flow conditions in August 2004. Canonical correspondence analysis was used to determine which variables most influenced each community. Total phosphorus concentrations significantly influenced the depositional-targeted habitat algal-diatom community and the richest-targeted habitat invertebrate community. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that habitat variables were more influential to the richest-targeted habitat algal-diatom and fish communities than nutrient concentrations. Although the nutrient concentrations measured during this study indicate that most streams were not eutrophic, the biological communities were dominated by eutrophic species, suggesting streams sampled were eutrophic. Consequently, it was concluded that biological relations to nutrients in agriculturally dominated landscapes are complex and habitat variables should be included in biological assessments of nutrient conditions in agriculturally dominated landscapes.

Measurement of the rate and direction of ground water flow beneath Wollaston Beach, Quincy, Massachusetts by use of a heat-pulsing flowmeter shows a mean velocity in the bulk sediment of 40 cm d(-1). The estimated total discharge of ground water into Quincy Bay during October 1990 was 1324-2177 m(3) d(-1), a relatively low ground water discharge rate. The tides have only a moderate effect on the rate and direction of this flow. Other important controls on the rate and volume of ground water flow are the limited thickness, geographic extent, and permeability of the aquifer. Comparisons of published streamflow data and estimates of ground water discharge indicate that ground water makes up between 7.4-12.1% of the gaged freshwater input into Quincy Bay. The data from this study suggest the ground water discharge is a less important recharge component to Quincy Bay than predicted by National Urban Runoff Program (NURP) models.The high nitrate and low nitrite and ammonia concentrations in the ground water at the backshore well sites and low nitrate and high nitrite and ammonia concentrations in the water flowing from the foreshore suggests that denitrification is active in the sediments. The low ground water flow rates and low nitrate concentrations in the foreshore samples suggest that little or no nitrate is surviving the denitrification process to affect the planktonic community. Similarly, oxidizing conditions in the aquifer and low trace metal concentrations in the ground water samples suggest that the metals may be precipitating and binding to sedimentary phases before impacting the bay. PMID:24227453

This study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with Lactobacillus plantarum and Bacillus subtilis on growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility and stress-related indicators in dairy calves. Twenty-four neonatal Holstein calves were randomly allocated to three treatments: a basal diet with no supplementation (control), the basal diet supplemented with 1.7 × 10(10) CFU per head per day (CFU/h.d) of L. plantarum GF103 (LB group) or the basal diet supplemented with a mixture of L. plantarum GF103 (1.7 × 10(10) CFU/h.d) and B. subtilis B27 (1.7 × 10(8) CFU/h.d) (LBS group). Dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), feed conversation ratio (FCR), apparent digestibility of nutrients and stress-related indicators were measured in this trail. The result indicated that no significant differences were observed in DMI or ADG (p > 0.05), but the FCR was improved in the LB group over the first 12 weeks (p > 0.05). The apparent digestibility of nutrients was not altered by probiotics in week 6 (p > 0.05), but the apparent digestibility of total phosphorus was significantly greater in the LB and LBS groups in week 8 (p > 0.05); additionally, an increase in the apparent digestibility of crude protein was detected in the LBS group (p > 0.05). Oral administration of L. plantarum alone improved the T-lymphocyte transformation rate on days 58 and 62 (p > 0.05), while adding the mixture of L. plantarum and B. subtilis increased the T-lymphocyte transformation rate (p > 0.05) but decreased the content of cortisol on day 58 (p > 0.05). No significant differences were detected between the LB and LBS groups in growth performance, apparent digestibility of nutrients and stress-related indicators (p > 0.05). The results suggested that oral administration of L. plantarum improved growth performance, nutrient digestibility and relieved weaning stress in calves, but no additional effect was obtained by supplementation

Background: Drinking plain water, such as tap or bottled water, provides hydration and satiety without adding calories. We examined plain water and sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption in relation to energy and nutrient intake at full-service restaurants. Methods: Data came from the 2005–2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, comprising a nationally-representative sample of 2900 adults who reported full-service restaurant consumption in 24-h dietary recalls. Linear regressions were performed to examine the differences in daily energy and nutrient intake at full-service restaurants by plain water and SSB consumption status, adjusting for individual characteristics and sampling design. Results: Over 18% of U.S. adults had full-service restaurant consumption on any given day. Among full-service restaurant consumers, 16.7% consumed SSBs, 2.6% consumed plain water but no SSBs, and the remaining 80.7% consumed neither beverage at the restaurant. Compared to onsite SSB consumption, plain water but no SSB consumption was associated with reduced daily total energy intake at full-service restaurants by 443.4 kcal, added sugar intake by 58.2 g, saturated fat intake by 4.4 g, and sodium intake by 616.8 mg, respectively. Conclusion: Replacing SSBs with plain water consumption could be an effective strategy to balance energy/nutrient intake and prevent overconsumption at full-service restaurant setting. PMID:27153083

Ecologists have long classified Midwestern prairies based on compositional variation assumed to reflect local gradients in moisture availability. The best known classification is based on Curtis’ continuum index (CI), calculated using the presence of indicator species thought centered on different portions of an underlying moisture gradient. Direct evidence of the extent to which CI reflects differences in moisture availability has been lacking, however. Many factors that increase moisture availability (e.g., soil depth, silt content) also increase nutrient supply and decrease soil mechanical impedance; the ecological effects of the last have rarely been considered in any ecosystem. Decreased soil mechanical impedance should increase the availability of soil moisture and nutrients by reducing the root costs of retrieving both. Here we assess the relative importance of soil moisture, nutrient supply, and mechanical impedance in determining prairie composition and structure. We used leaf δ13C of C3 plants as a measure of growing-season moisture availability, cation exchange capacity (CEC) x soil depth as a measure of mineral nutrient availability, and penetrometer data as a measure of soil mechanical impedance. Community composition and structure were assessed in 17 remnant prairies in Wisconsin which vary little in annual precipitation. Ordination and regression analyses showed that δ13C increased with CI toward “drier” sites, and decreased with soil depth and % silt content. Variation in δ13C among remnants was 2.0‰, comparable to that along continental gradients from ca. 500–1500 mm annual rainfall. As predicted, LAI and average leaf height increased significantly toward “wetter” sites. CI accounted for 54% of compositional variance but δ13C accounted for only 6.2%, despite the strong relationships of δ13C to CI and CI to composition. Compositional variation reflects soil fertility and mechanical impedance more than moisture availability. This

There has been an increasing interest in space-based space situational awareness around satellite assets and the tracking of orbital debris. Of particular interest is the space-based tracking of objects near critical circular orbit regimes, for example near the Geostationary belt or the International Space Station. Relative orbit descriptions such as the Clohessy-Wiltshire equations describe the motion using time-varying Cartesian or curvilinear coordinates. Orbit element differences describe the unperturbed motion using constant variations of inertial orbit elements. With perturbations these only vary slowly, but can be challenging to estimate. Linearized Relative Orbit Elements (LROEs) employ invariants of the linearized relative motion, are thus constant for the unperturbed linear case, and share the benefit of the CW equations in that they directly related to space-based relative motion measurements. The variational LROE equations enable the relative orbit to be directly propagated including perturbation forces. Utilization of the invariant-inspired relative motion parameters exhibits exciting applications in relative motion sensing and control. Many methods of relative motion estimation involve the direct estimation of time-evolving position and velocity variables. Developed is an angles-only relative orbit Extended Kalman filter (EKF) navigation approach that directly estimates these nominally constant LROEs. The proposed variational equations and filtering scheme enables direct estimation of geometric parameters with clear geometric insight. Preliminary numerical simulation results demonstrate the relative orbit insight gained and speed of convergence. EKF implementations often exhibit significant sensitivity to initial conditions, however, initial results show that the LROE filter converges within fractions of an orbit with initialization errors that exceed 100 percent. The manuscript presents the invariants of motion, develops the variational equations for

Resource Purpose:The Nutrient Criteria Program has initiated development of a National relational database application that will be used to store and analyze nutrient data. The ultimate use of these data will be to derive ecoregion- and waterbody-specific numeric nutrient...

We estimate the population genetics parameter (also referred to as the fixation index) from short tandem repeat (STR) allele frequencies, comparing many worldwide human subpopulations at approximately the national level with continental-scale populations. is commonly used to measure population differentiation, and is important in forensic DNA analysis to account for remote shared ancestry between a suspect and an alternative source of the DNA. We estimate comparing subpopulations with a hypothetical ancestral population, which is the approach most widely used in population genetics, and also compare a subpopulation with a sampled reference population, which is more appropriate for forensic applications. Both estimation methods are likelihood-based, in which is related to the variance of the multinomial-Dirichlet distribution for allele counts. Overall, we find low values, with posterior 97.5 percentiles when comparing a subpopulation with the most appropriate population, and even for inter-population comparisons we find . These are much smaller than single nucleotide polymorphism-based inter-continental estimates, and are also about half the magnitude of STR-based estimates from population genetics surveys that focus on distinct ethnic groups rather than a general population. Our findings support the use of up to 3% in forensic calculations, which corresponds to some current practice. PMID:26460400

We show how model-based estimation of the neural sources responsible for transient neuroelectric signals can be improved by the analysis of single trial data. Previously, we showed that a multiple component event-related potential (mcERP) algorithm can extract the responses of individual sources from recordings of a mixture of multiple, possibly interacting, neural ensembles. McERP also estimated single-trial amplitudes and onset latencies, thus allowing more accurate estimation of ongoing neural activity during an experimental trial. The mcERP algorithm is related to informax independent component analysis (ICA); however, the underlying signal model is more physiologically realistic in that a component is modeled as a stereotypic waveshape varying both in amplitude and onset latency from trial to trial. The result is a model that reflects quantities of interest to the neuroscientist. Here we demonstrate that the mcERP algorithm provides more accurate results than more traditional methods such as factor analysis and the more recent ICA. Whereas factor analysis assumes the sources are orthogonal and ICA assumes the sources are statistically independent, the mcERP algorithm makes no such assumptions thus allowing investigators to examine interactions among components by estimating the properties of single-trial responses.

Fish are an important source of nutrients including omega-3 fatty acids, which may reduce risk of adverse health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease; however, fish may also contain significant amounts of environmental pollutants. The Wisconsin Departments of Health Services and Natural Resources developed a survey instrument, along with a strategy to collect human biological samples to assess the risks and benefits associated with long-term fish consumption among older male anglers in Wisconsin. The target population was men aged 50 years and older, who fish Wisconsin waters and live in the state of Wisconsin. Participants provided blood and hair samples and completed a detailed (paper) questionnaire, which included questions on basic demographics, health status, location of catch and species of fish caught/eaten, consumption of locally caught and commercially purchased fish, and awareness and source of information for local and statewide consumption guidelines. Biological samples were used to assess levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA); vitamin D; and selenium in blood. Quantile regression analysis was used to investigate the associations between biomarker levels and self-reported consumption of fish from the Great Lakes and other areas of concern, other locally caught fish, and commercially purchased fish (meals per year). Respondents were largely non-Hispanic white men in their 60’s with at least some college education, and about half were retired. Fish consumption was high (median of 54.5 meals per year), with most fish meals coming from locally-caught fish. Multivariate regression models showed that the effect of supplement use was much greater than that of fish consumption, on nutrient levels, although consumption of fish from the Great Lakes and areas of concern was significantly associated with higher levels of vitamin D even after controlling for supplement usage. PMID:26296180

In Cambodia, both anaemia and vitamin A deficiency are serious health problems. Despite this, few comprehensive nutritional surveys have been completed to date. This study evaluates the adequacy of iron and vitamin A intakes, as well as women's nutritional knowledge in rural Kandal province. Twenty-four hour recalls, pile sort activities, socioeconomic surveys, focus groups, and market surveys were carried out with 67 women from 5 villages in rural Kandal Province. Ninety seven percent of women did not meet their daily-recommended intake of iron, while 70% did not meet their daily-recommended intake of vitamin A. Although many women consume vitamin A-rich and iron rich-foods daily, they do not consume large enough quantities of these foods. Results suggest that both the cost of foods as well as the extent of health knowledge is linked to nutritional practice. Most animal-source iron and vitamin A-rich foods are considered expensive; however, small fish, and several plant-source vitamin A-rich foods are inexpensive and easy to access. Despite health education, food restrictions lead some healthy foods to be considered to be harmful to women. Ultimately, this study demonstrates the importance of developing comprehensive nutritional interventions in Cambodia. Health programming must provide women with not only suggestions to include low-cost nutrient-rich foods, but also advise them about the quantities that are likely to have an impact on nutritional status. Programs should take a community-based, inter-sectoral approach that simultaneously combines culturally informed health education with initiatives that combat poverty and increase access to nutrient rich foods. PMID:24901096

The contribution of sex steroids to nutrient partitioning and energy balance during gonad development was studied in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Nineteen month old triploid (3N) female rainbow trout were fed a diet supplemented with 17ß-estradiol (E2) at 30 mg steroid/kg diet for a 1 month...

Background: Dietary intake assessment with diet records (DR) is a standard research and practice tool in nutrition. Manual entry and analysis of DR is time-consuming and expensive. New electronic tools for diet entry by clients and research participants may reduce the cost and effort of nutrient int...

Liquid runoff from cattle feeding operations can be 1) held in long-term storage or 2) temporarily held in a settling basin, then discharged to a vegetative treatment area (VTA) for nutrient utilization. The second option has been shown to be effective on the short-term, but long-term sustainabilit...

Prediction of passive permeation rates of solutes across lipid bilayers is important to drug design, toxicology, and other biological processes such as signaling. The inhomogeneous solubility-diffusion (ISD) equation is traditionally used to relate the position-dependent potential of mean force and diffusivity to the permeability coefficient. The ISD equation is derived via the Smoluchowski equation and assumes overdamped system dynamics. It has been suggested that the complex membrane environment may exhibit more complicated damping conditions. Here we derive a variant of the inhomogeneous solubility diffusion equation as a function of the mean first passage time (MFPT) and show how milestoning, a method that can estimate kinetic quantities of interest, can be used to estimate the MFPT of membrane crossing and, by extension, the permeability coefficient. We further describe a second scheme, agnostic to the damping condition, to estimate the permeability coefficient from milestoning results or other methods that compute a probability of membrane crossing. The derived relationships are tested using a one-dimensional Langevin dynamics toy system confirming that the presented theoretical methods can be used to estimate permeabilities given simulation and milestoning results. PMID:27154639

Prediction of passive permeation rates of solutes across lipid bilayers is important to drug design, toxicology, and other biological processes such as signaling. The inhomogeneous solubility-diffusion (ISD) equation is traditionally used to relate the position-dependent potential of mean force and diffusivity to the permeability coefficient. The ISD equation is derived via the Smoluchowski equation and assumes overdamped system dynamics. It has been suggested that the complex membrane environment may exhibit more complicated damping conditions. Here we derive a variant of the inhomogeneous solubility diffusion equation as a function of the mean first passage time (MFPT) and show how milestoning, a method that can estimate kinetic quantities of interest, can be used to estimate the MFPT of membrane crossing and, by extension, the permeability coefficient. We further describe a second scheme, agnostic to the damping condition, to estimate the permeability coefficient from milestoning results or other methods that compute a probability of membrane crossing. The derived relationships are tested using a one-dimensional Langevin dynamics toy system confirming that the presented theoretical methods can be used to estimate permeabilities given simulation and milestoning results. PMID:27154639

The continuing expansion of anthropogenic influence across the continental United States has motivated the establishment of nutrient criteria for streams, lakes, and estuaries as a means to promote the protection of aquatic resources. Nutrient criteria have been established base...

In this research, we present preliminary nutritional data for traditional vegetables and fruits including their content of mineral elements (calcium, potassium, sodium, zinc, and iron) and antioxidant phenolic compounds levels. Eight vegetables and vegetables were studied. Plant foods Asparagus officinalis DC, Chlorophytum comosum Linn., Cordia myxa Roxb., Portulaca oleracia Linn. and Solanum indicum Linn. were collected in Behbehan, south Iran, and also Alocacia indica Sch., Eulophia ocherata Lindl. and Momordica dioica Roxb. were collected from the south of India. Nutrients were measured with food analytical standard methods. The results of this study provide evidence that these local traditional vegetables, which do not require formal cultivation, could be important contributors to improving the nutritional content of Pune and Behbehan people. Results indicate that 50% of the vegetables have significant energy values ranging from 281.4 to 303.9 kcal/100 g. From this study, it was determined that five vegetables, namely A. officinalis, C. comosum, E. ocherata, P. oleracia and S. indicum, provide mineral concentrations exceeding 2% of the plant dry weight and are much higher than typical mineral concentrations in conventional edible vegetables; they are thus recommended for future commercial cultivation. High levels of antioxidant compounds were noticed in P. oleracia and S. indicum. The three plants S. indicum, A. officinalis and P. oleracia are suitable for high-temperature food processes. PMID:19274594

Objective To provide a critical review of prevalence estimates of combat-related PTSD among military personnel and veterans, and of the relevant factors that may account for the variability of estimates within and across cohorts, including methodological and conceptual factors accounting for differences in prevalence rates across nations, conflicts/wars, and studies. Method We examined MEDLINE and PsycINFO databases for literature on combat-related PTSD. The following terms were used independently and in combinations in this search: PTSD, combat, veterans, military, epidemiology, prevalence. Results The point prevalence of combat-related PTSD in US military veterans since the Vietnam War ranges from about 2 – 17%. Studies of recent conflicts suggest that combat-related PTSD afflicts between 4 – 17% of US Iraq War veterans, but only 3 – 6% of returning UK Iraq War veterans. Thus, the prevalence range is narrower and tends to have a lower ceiling among combat veterans of non-US Western nations. Variability in prevalence is likely due to differences in sampling strategies; measurement strategies; inclusion and measurement of the DSM-IV clinically significant impairment criterion; timing and latency of assessment and potential for recall bias; and combat experiences. Prevalence rates are also likely affected by issues related to PTSD course, chronicity, and comorbidity; symptom overlap with other psychiatric disorders; and sociopolitical and cultural factors that may vary over time and by nation. Conclusions The disorder represents a significant and costly illness to veterans, their families, and society as a whole. However, further carefully conceptualized research is needed to advance our understanding of disorder prevalence, as well as associated information on course, phenomenology, protective factors, treatment, and economic costs. PMID:20073563

This paper examines the significance of the recent demonstration of polar auxin transport (PAT) in the green macroalga Chara (Charophyceae: Charales) and, especially, options for explaining some features of PAT in the Charales. The occurrence of PAT in the Charales shows that PAT originated in the algal ancestors of the embryophytes (liverworts, mosses, hornworts, and vascular plants), although it is not yet known if PAT occurs elsewhere in the Charophyceae or in other algae. While in the embryophytes PAT occurs in parenchymatously constructed structures which commonly also have xylem and phloem (or their bryophyte analogues) as long-distance transport processes in parallel to PAT, in Chara corallina PAT shares the pathway for long-distance transport of nutrients though the parenchymatously constructed nodal complexes and the single giant cells of the internode. The speed of auxin movement of PAT is much more rapid than that attributable to diffusion and of the same order as the rate of cytoplasmic streaming in the giant internodal cells, yet complete inhibition of streaming by the inhibitor cytochalasin H does not slow down auxin transport. Explanations for this phenomenon are sought in the operation of other mechanochemical motors, dynein-tubulin and kinesin-tubulin, as alternatives to the myosin-actin system which powers cytoplasmic streaming. Experiments in which microtubules are disrupted, for example by colchicine, could show if one of the tubulin-based motors is involved. If these motors are involved, some mechanism is needed to amplify the speeds known for the motors to explain the order of magnitude higher speeds seen for auxin transport. PMID:23264638

Six japonica rice genotypes, differing in panicle type, grain density, and phytic acid (PA) content, were applied to investigate the effect of grain position on the concentrations of major mineral nutrients and its relation to PA content and grain weight within a panicle. Grain position significantly affected the concentrations of the studied minerals in both the vertical and horizontal axes of a rice panicle. Heavy-weight grains, located on primary rachis and top rachis, generally had higher mineral concentrations, but were lower in PA concentration and molar ratios of PA/Zn, compared with the small-weight grains located on secondary rachis and bottom rachis, regardless of rice genotypes. However, on the basis of six rice genotypes, no significant correlations were found among mineral elements, PA, and grain weight. These results suggested that some desired minerals, like Zn and Fe, and their bioavailability, can be enhanced simultaneously by the modification of panicle patterns, and it will be helpful in the selection of rice genotypes with low PA and high mineral nutrients for further breeding strategy without sacrificing their high yields. PMID:25367791

For estimating pharmacokinetic parameters, we introduce the minimum relative entropy (MRE) method and compare its performance with least squares methods. There are several variants of least squares, such as ordinary least squares (OLS), weighted least squares, and iteratively reweighted least squares. In addition to these traditional methods, even extended least squares (ELS), a relatively new approach to nonlinear regression analysis, can be regarded as a variant of least squares. These methods are different from each other in their manner of handling weights. It has been recognized that least squares methods with an inadequate weighting scheme may cause misleading results (the "choice of weights" problem). Although least squares with uniform weights, i.e., OLS, is rarely used in pharmacokinetic analysis, it offers the principle of least squares. The objective function of OLS can be regarded as a distance between observed and theoretical pharmacokinetic values on the Euclidean space RN, where N is the number of observations. Thus OLS produces its estimates by minimizing the Euclidean distance. On the other hand, MRE works by minimizing the relative entropy which expresses discrepancy between two probability densities. Because pharmacokinetic functions are not density function in general, we use a particular form of the relative entropy whose domain is extended to the space of all positive functions. MRE never assumes any distribution of errors involved in observations. Thus, it can be a possible solution to the choice of weights problem. Moreover, since the mathematical form of the relative entropy, i.e., an expectation of the log-ratio of two probability density functions, is different from that of a usual Euclidean distance, the behavior of MRE may be different from those of least squares methods. To clarify the behavior of MRE, we have compared the performance of MRE with those of ELS and OLS by carrying out an intensive simulation study, where four pharmaco

Rodents are often the species of choice to examine the effect of drugs on survival and on the progression of specific diseased tissues. This statement is also true for research laboratories working in the field of nutrition and aging. In addition to diets that can reduce the life expectancy of rodents, such as diabetogenic or high-fat diets, genetically modified rodents exhibiting different accelerated age-associated diseases also provide important biologic tools to decipher the impact of drugs, nutrients, or phytoactive compounds on their health and life span. This review covers some of the chemicals believed to decelerate the appearance of age-related diseases in different rodent models. Such chemicals include antioxidants, anti-inflammatory molecules, modulators of metabolic sensors, calorie restriction mimetics, and vegetal polyphenolic compounds that affect mitochondrial functions, cellular proliferation or differentiation as well as cell functionality. PMID:21393422

Using data from 881 higher education institutions and a mathematical model, researchers related the estimated compensation rates of part-time faculty members to their institutional types and sexes. Results indicate a growing compensation gap between part- and full-time faculty and increasing substitutability of part- for full-time teachers. (RW)

Does completing a household survey change the later behavior of those surveyed? In three field studies of health and two of microlending, we randomly assigned subjects to be surveyed about health and/or household finances and then measured subsequent use of a related product with data that does not rely on subjects' self-reports. In the three health experiments, we find that being surveyed increases use of water treatment products and take-up of medical insurance. Frequent surveys on reported diarrhea also led to biased estimates of the impact of improved source water quality. In two microlending studies, we do not find an effect of being surveyed on borrowing behavior. The results suggest that limited attention could play an important but context-dependent role in consumer choice, with the implication that researchers should reconsider whether, how, and how much to survey their subjects. PMID:21245314

Does completing a household survey change the later behavior of those surveyed? In three field studies of health and two of microlending, we randomly assigned subjects to be surveyed about health and/or household finances and then measured subsequent use of a related product with data that does not rely on subjects' self-reports. In the three health experiments, we find that being surveyed increases use of water treatment products and take-up of medical insurance. Frequent surveys on reported diarrhea also led to biased estimates of the impact of improved source water quality. In two microlending studies, we do not find an effect of being surveyed on borrowing behavior. The results suggest that limited attention could play an important but context-dependent role in consumer choice, with the implication that researchers should reconsider whether, how, and how much to survey their subjects. PMID:21245314

The present study was conducted to investigate whether dietary essential oils could affect growth performance, relative organ weights, cecal microflora, immune responses and blood profiles of broiler chickens fed on diets containing different nutrient densities. A total of eight hundred-forty 1-d-old male broiler chicks were randomly allotted into twenty-eight pens (7 pens per treatment, 30 chicks per pen). There were four experimental diets containing two different nutrient densities and supplemented with or without essential oils. Experimental period lasted for 35 days. No clear interaction between nutrient density and essential oils on any of growth performance-related parameters was observed. Live body weights were affected (p<0.05) by nutrient density at 21 days and by dietary essential oils at 35 days. Essential oils significantly (p<0.05) increased daily body weight gain and feed conversion ratio during the periods of 22 to 35 and 1 to 35 days, but failed to affect feed intake during the entire experimental period. Daily weight gain at 1 to 21 days and feed intake at 1 to 21 and 1 to 35 days were significantly impaired (p<0.05) by nutrient density. There were significant treatment interactions (p<0.05) on relative weights of bursa of Fabricius and abdominal fat contents. Finally, either essential oil or nutrient density did not influence the relative percentages of breast and leg meats, the population of cecal microflora, blood parameters and antibody titers against Newcastle disease and infectious bronchitis in broiler chickens. It was concluded that dietary essential oils, independent to nutrient density, failed to stimulate feed intake, but increased growth performance in broiler chickens. PMID:26949956

The present study was conducted to investigate whether dietary essential oils could affect growth performance, relative organ weights, cecal microflora, immune responses and blood profiles of broiler chickens fed on diets containing different nutrient densities. A total of eight hundred-forty 1-d-old male broiler chicks were randomly allotted into twenty-eight pens (7 pens per treatment, 30 chicks per pen). There were four experimental diets containing two different nutrient densities and supplemented with or without essential oils. Experimental period lasted for 35 days. No clear interaction between nutrient density and essential oils on any of growth performance-related parameters was observed. Live body weights were affected (p<0.05) by nutrient density at 21 days and by dietary essential oils at 35 days. Essential oils significantly (p<0.05) increased daily body weight gain and feed conversion ratio during the periods of 22 to 35 and 1 to 35 days, but failed to affect feed intake during the entire experimental period. Daily weight gain at 1 to 21 days and feed intake at 1 to 21 and 1 to 35 days were significantly impaired (p<0.05) by nutrient density. There were significant treatment interactions (p<0.05) on relative weights of bursa of Fabricius and abdominal fat contents. Finally, either essential oil or nutrient density did not influence the relative percentages of breast and leg meats, the population of cecal microflora, blood parameters and antibody titers against Newcastle disease and infectious bronchitis in broiler chickens. It was concluded that dietary essential oils, independent to nutrient density, failed to stimulate feed intake, but increased growth performance in broiler chickens. PMID:26949956

Background and Aims The genome size of an organism is determined by its capacity to tolerate genome expansion, given the species' life strategy and the limits of a particular environment, and the ability for retrotransposon suppression and/or removal. In some giant-genomed bulb geophytes, this tolerance is explained by their ability to pre-divide cells in the dormant stages or by the selective advantage of larger cells in the rapid growth of their fleshy body. In this study, a test shows that the tendency for genome size expansion is a more universal feature of geophytes, and is a subject in need of more general consideration. Methods Differences in monoploid genome sizes were compared using standardized phylogenetically independent contrasts in 47 sister pairs of geophytic and non-geophytic taxa sampled across all the angiosperms. The genome sizes of 96 species were adopted from the literature and 53 species were newly measured using flow cytometry with propidium iodide staining. Key Results The geophytes showed increased genome sizes compared with their non-geophytic relatives, regardless of the storage organ type and regardless of whether or not vernal geophytes, polyploids or annuals were included in the analyses. Conclusions The universal tendency of geophytes to possess a higher genome size suggests the presence of a universal mechanism allowing for genome expansion. It is assumed that this is primarily due to the nutrient and energetic independence of geophytes perhaps allowing continuous synthesis of DNA, which is known to proceed in the extreme cases of vernal geophytes even in dormant stages. This independence may also be assumed as a reason for allowing large genomes in some parasitic plants, as well as the nutrient limitation of small genomes of carnivorous plants. PMID:23960044

From a health perspective, an underappreciated consequence of the normal aging process is the impacts that the gradual loss of skeletal muscle mass, termed sarcopenia, has on health beyond an effect on locomotion. Sarcopenia, refers to the loss of muscle mass, and associated muscle weakness, which occurs in aging and is thought to proceed at a rate of approximately 1% loss per year. However, periods of inactivity due to illness or recovery from orthopedic procedures such as hip or knee replacement are times of accelerated sarcopenic muscle loss from which it may be more difficult for older persons to recover. Some of the consequences of age-related sarcopenia are easy to appreciate such as weakness and, eventually, reduced mobility; however, other lesser recognized consequences include, due to the metabolic role the skeletal muscle plays, an increased risk for poor glucose control and a predisposition toward weight gain. What we currently know is that two stimuli can counter this age related muscle loss and these are physical activity, specifically resistance exercise (weightlifting), and nutrition. The focus of this paper is on the types of dietary protein that people might reasonably consume to offset sarcopenic muscle loss. PMID:22632883

A study was done to determine the macro- and micronutrient requirements in young northern highbush blueberries. The plants were fertilized with 0, 50, or 100 kg/ha N each year and excavated and sampled periodically for complete nutrient analysis. Leaf concentration of several nutrients including N, ...

Dimorphic plant species can show distinct nutrient needs due to sex-related differences in nutrient allocation to reproductive structures, which can potentially affect their sensitivity to photoinhibition and photo-oxidative stress. Here, we investigated sex-related differences in the extent of photo-oxidative stress in male and female individuals of U. dioica exposed to a combination of severe drought and nutrient starvation. Male and female individuals of U. dioica subject to severe drought stress were exposed to various levels of nutrient availability. First, a set of plants grown under field conditions and exposed to summer drought was used to test the effects of nutrient supply (given as NPK fertilizer). Secondly, the effects of various phosphate concentrations in the nutrient solution were tested in drought-stressed potted plants. The Fv/Fm ratio (maximum efficiency of PSII photochemistry), photoprotection capacity (levels of carotenoids, including the xanthophyll cycle, and vitamins C and E), and the extent of lipid peroxidation (hydroperoxide levels) were measured. Results showed that an application of the NPK fertilizer to the soil had a positive effect on drought-stressed plants, reducing the extent of lipid peroxidation in both males and females. P deficiency led to residual photoinhibition, as indicated by significant reductions in the Fv/Fm ratio, and enhanced lipid peroxidation in females, but not in males. We conclude that (i) increased nutrient availability in the soil can alleviate photo-oxidative stress in drought-stressed U. dioica plants, and (ii) U. dioica plants show sexual secondary dimorphism in terms of photoinhibition and photo-oxidative stress, but this is only apparent when stress infringed on plants is very severe. PMID:26799330

The Global Positioning System (GPS) Master Control Station (MCS) currently makes significant use of the Allan Variance. This two-sample variance equation has proven excellent as a handy, understandable tool, both for time domain analysis of GPS cesium frequency standards, and for fine tuning the MCS's state estimation of these atomic clocks. The Allan Variance does not explicitly converge for the nose types of alpha less than or equal to minus 3 and can be greatly affected by frequency drift. Because GPS rubidium frequency standards exhibit non-trivial aging and aging noise characteristics, the basic Allan Variance analysis must be augmented in order to (a) compensate for a dynamic frequency drift, and (b) characterize two additional noise types, specifically alpha = minus 3, and alpha = minus 4. As the GPS program progresses, we will utilize a larger percentage of rubidium frequency standards than ever before. Hence, GPS rubidium clock characterization will require more attention than ever before. The three sample variance, commonly referred to as a renormalized Hadamard Variance, is unaffected by linear frequency drift, converges for alpha is greater than minus 5, and thus has utility for modeling noise in GPS rubidium frequency standards. This paper demonstrates the potential of Hadamard Variance analysis in GPS operations, and presents an equation that relates the Hadamard Variance to the MCS's Kalman filter process noises.

This experiment explored consequences of two common lay theories about the diet-disease link: nutrient-centrism, the belief that nutrients (e.g. potassium) are crucial to staving off disease, and whole-food centrism, the belief that whole foods (e.g. bananas), containing these nutrients in their natural context, are most beneficial. Depicting an individual's diet in terms of nutrients rather than whole foods containing these nutrients reduced the perceived likelihood that the individual would experience leading diet-related diseases (e.g. heart disease, diabetes). Although nutrition experts increasingly emphasize the health benefits of natural whole foods, people nevertheless appear to privilege nutrients when estimating disease risks. PMID:26032805

To assist Kentucky in refining numeric nutrient criteria in the Pennyroyal Bioregion, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Kentucky Division of Water collected and analyzed water chemistry, turbidity, and biological-community data from 22 streams throughout the Crawford-Mammoth Cave Upland ecoregion (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Level IV Ecoregion, 71a) within the Pennyroyal Bioregion from September 2007 to May 2008. Statistically significant and ecologically relevant relations among the stressor (total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and turbidity) variables and response (macroinvertebrate-community attributes) variables and the breakpoint values of biological-community attributes and metrics in response to changes in stressor variables were determined. Thirteen of 18 macroinvertebrate attributes were significantly and ecologically correlated (p-value < 0.10) with at least one nutrient measure. Total number of individuals, Ephemeroptera-Plecoptera-Trichoptera richness, and average tolerance value were macroinvertebrate measures that most strongly correlated with the concentrations of nutrients. Comparison of the average macroinvertebrate-breakpoint value for the median concentration of total phosphorus (TP, 0.033 mg/L) and for median concentration of total nitrogen (TN, 1.1 mg/L) to Dodds' trophic classification for TP and TN indicates streams in the Crawford-Mammoth Cave Uplands ecoregion within the Pennyroyal Bioregion would be classified as mesotrophic-eutrophic. The biological breakpoint relations with median concentrations of TP in this study were similar to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed numeric TP criteria (0.037 mg/L), but were 1.5 times higher than the proposed numeric criteria for concentrations of TN (0.69 mg/L). No sites were impacted adversely using median turbidity values based on a 25 Formazin nephelometric turbidity unit biological threshold. The breakpoints determined in this study, in addition to Dodds' trophic

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are an increasingly important tool for paleotemperature reconstructions in marine, lacustrine, and other terrestrial environments. Numerous studies using environmental samples have demonstrated that the relative abundances of nine brGDGTs are correlated to both mean annual air temperature (MAAT) and pH. Studies of lacustrine brGDGT have also explored the influence of other, potentially confounding limnological variables, including water depth, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen, on the relative distributions of brGDGTs, and have suggested that these variables have minimal influence on the relative distributions of brGDGTs. However, no study to date has explored the influence of nutrient concentrations on the relative distributions of brGDGTs. Here we examine the influence of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorous (TP) of lake waters on the relative distributions of brGDGTs in 91 lakes in East Africa. We find that TN is not significantly correlated to the relative distribution of any of the nine brGDGTs (p > 0.05 for all), and TP is significantly, but weakly, correlated to brGDGTs I (r = 0.39, p < 0.001) and Ib (r = 0.41, p < 0.001). Principle components analysis (PCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA) further demonstrate that TN has the smallest influence on the relative abundances of brGDGTs of all the environmental variables examined. TP shows a higher loading than TN on PCA and RDA axes 1 and 2, but its loading is smaller than all variables except TN. In both the RDA and PCA analyses, MAAT is the only environmental variable that significantly loads onto axis 1 and pH is the only variable that significantly loads onto axis 2. Moreover, MAAT explains the most variance in our brGDGT dataset, consistent with previous studies. The strong influence of MAAT, and weak influence of other environmental parameters, on the relative distribution of brGDGTs is encouraging for paleotemperature reconstructions using br

Fecapentaenes are strong fecal mutagenic compounds presumably occurring in the majority of Western human individuals, and are possibly essential initiators of colon carcinogenesis. Dietary factors have been shown to influence colorectal cancer risk and to modulate both fecal mutagenicity and fecapentaene concentrations. Therefore, in this study, excretion of fecapentaenes is determined in humans consuming either vegetarian or omnivorous diets. The results show that the most predominant fecapentaene forms are excreted in higher concentrations by vegetarians. Consumption of cereal fiber, calcium and carotene as well as fecal concentrations of iso-lithocholic acid were found to correlate positively with excreted concentrations of one or more fecapentaene analogues. On average, 22% of excreted fecapentaene concentrations was found to be related to nutrient intake in stepwise regression models. Dietary calcium intake was found to be the most significant factor positively correlating with excreted fecapentaene concentrations. Intake of mono-unsaturated fatty acids or fiber from vegetables and fruit could be shown to correlate with fecapentaene excretion to a lesser degree. Despite high fecapentaene concentrations in fecal dichloromethane extracts, only 1 out of 20 samples revealed significant mutagenic activity in Salmonella typhimurium TA 100. Further, aqueous extracts of feces from omnivores appeared to be equally mutagenic as feces from vegetarians and contained non-detectable concentrations of fecapentaenes. It is concluded that dietary factors do affect excreted fecapentaene levels, but only to a relatively minor extent. Since vegetarians at low risk for colorectal cancer excrete higher concentrations of fecapentaenes, it could be hypothesized that relatively increased fecapentaene excretion in combination with antimutagenic compounds in feces represents colon cancer prevention. PMID:1540928

Excess nutrients and agrochemicals from non-point sources contribute to water quality impairment in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and their loading rates are related to land use, agricultural practices, hydrology, and pollutant fate and transport processes. In this study, monthly baseflow stream samples from 15 agricultural subwatersheds of the Choptank River in Maryland USA (2005 to 2007) were characterized for nutrients, herbicides, and herbicide transformation products. High-resolution digital maps of land use and forested wetlands were derived from remote sensing imagery. Examination of landscape metrics and water quality data, partitioned according to hydrogeomorphic class, provided insight into the fate, delivery, and transport mechanisms associated with agricultural pollutants. Mean Nitrate-N concentrations (4.9 mg/L) were correlated positively with percent agriculture (R(2)=0.56) and negatively with percent forest (R(2)=0.60). Concentrations were greater (p=0.0001) in the well-drained upland (WDU) hydrogeomorphic region than in poorly drained upland (PDU), reflecting increased denitrification and reduced agricultural land use intensity in the PDU landscape due to the prevalence of hydric soils. Atrazine and metolachlor concentrations (mean 0.29 μg/L and 0.19 μg/L) were also greater (p=0.0001) in WDU subwatersheds than in PDU subwatersheds. Springtime herbicide concentrations exhibited a strong, positive correlation (R(2)=0.90) with percent forest in the WDU subwatersheds but not in the PDU subwatersheds. In addition, forested riparian stream buffers in the WDU were more prevalent than in the PDU where forested patches are typically not located near streams, suggesting an alternative delivery mechanism whereby volatilized herbicides are captured by the riparian forest canopy and subsequently washed off during rainfall. Orthophosphate, CIAT (6-chloro-N-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine), CEAT (6-chloro-N-ethyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine), and MESA

Excess nutrients and agrochemicals from non-point sources contribute to water quality impairment in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and their loading rates are related to land use, agricultural practices, hydrology, and pollutant fate and transport processes. In this study, monthly baseflow stream samples from 15 agricultural subwatersheds of the Choptank River in Maryland USA (2005 to 2007) were characterized for nutrients, herbicides, and herbicide transformation products. High-resolution digital maps of land use and forested wetlands were derived from remote sensing imagery. Examination of landscape metrics and water quality data, partitioned according to hydrogeomorphic class, provided insight into the fate, delivery, and transport mechanisms associated with agricultural pollutants. Mean Nitrate-N concentrations (4.9 mg/L) were correlated positively with percent agriculture (R2 = 0.56) and negatively with percent forest (R2 = 0.60). Concentrations were greater (p = 0.0001) in the well-drained upland (WDU) hydrogeomorphic region than in poorly drained upland (PDU), reflecting increased denitrification and reduced agricultural land use intensity in the PDU landscape due to the prevalence of hydric soils. Atrazine and metolachlor concentrations (mean 0.29 μg/L and 0.19 μg/L) were also greater (p = 0.0001) in WDU subwatersheds than in PDU subwatersheds. Springtime herbicide concentrations exhibited a strong, positive correlation (R2 = 0.90) with percent forest in the WDU subwatersheds but not in the PDU subwatersheds. In addition, forested riparian stream buffers in the WDU were more prevalent than in the PDU where forested patches are typically not located near streams, suggesting an alternative delivery mechanism whereby volatilized herbicides are captured by the riparian forest canopy and subsequently washed off during rainfall. Orthophosphate, CIAT (6-chloro-N-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine), CEAT (6-chloro-N-ethyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine), and

A study was carried out to determine voluntary forage intake and nutrient digestibility in growing pigs fed a mixed forage and concentrate diet. Twenty-five 8-week-old Large White × Landrace crossbred male pigs (27 ± 3.8 kg) were blocked by weight into five groups, and each was randomly allocated to four indoor treatments (A, B, C, and D), which received 100, 90, 80, and 70 % of ad lib concentrated intake and an outdoor treatment (E) that received 80 % of ad lib concentrate. Indoor treatments were either fed the concentrate only (A) or also received freshly cut Kikuyu grass (Pennissetum clandestinum) ad libitum (B, C, and D), while pigs on treatment E were reared outdoors in Kikuyu grass paddocks. There was a significant correlation between the amount of concentrate offered and its intake (P < 0.01). The intake of Kikuyu was similar among treatments (P > 0.05). Mean acid-insoluble ash digestibility estimates of organic and dry matter were superior to C(32) estimates (P < 0.05). Kikuyu intake was higher (P < 0.05) than the estimated intake by 0.076 ± 0.03 kg. It was concluded that Kikuyu intake was not affected by the reduction of the concentrate allowance, and this should be taken into consideration when feeding pigs on pasture. PMID:22467043

In many rural livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa, crop productivity plays an important role since it links with food insecurity, which again is a major constraining factor in livelihood development. Sustainable livelihood development and land degradation are closely connected: lacking sustainability often results in land degradation, whereas the incidence of land degradation frequently frustrates sustainable development. Important forms of land degradation are soil erosion and nutrient depletion, both often being attributed to exhaustive land use practices and both having a direct and major impact on crop productivity. Application of nutrients is an important way to increase productivity. In our study area, central Tigray, development agents recommend the application of fertilizers at high rates in order to boost productivity and to deal with nutrient depletion. In the discussion about the use of fertilizers different perspectives can be taken, in which especially responses and nutrient balances are important issues, linking respectively with socio-economic and agro-ecological livelihood aspects. Ethiopian soils for example are, based on large scale nutrient balances, considered to be depleted, at field scale fertilizer responses are frequently disappointing and achieving sustainable nutrient balances at farm level seems difficult. At a temporal scale however, agricultural systems remained almost unchanged for over 2500 years, suggesting at least some degree of sustainability. With respect to productivity data resulting from on-farm experimentation with natural and artificial fertilizers in 26 sites, we took four perspectives, different in ownership and scale, on nutrientrelated land degradation and its assumed impact on crop productivity. Taking a farmer perspective we found no significant difference between responses to recommended and current farmer based practices. Taking a more scientific perspective highlighted that, based on the positive correlation between

Although prescription drugs do not appear to be a primary source of recent surges in Medicaid spending, their share of Medicaid expenditures has risen despite efforts to control costs. As part of a general concern with prescription drug policy, Congress mandated a study of the adequacy of Medicaid payments to pharmacies. In this study, several data sources were used to develop 1991 estimates of average pharmacy ingredient and dispensing costs. A simulation was used to estimate the amounts States pay. Nationally, simulated payments averaged 96 percent of estimated costs overall but were lower for dispensing costs (79 percent) and higher for ingredient costs (102 percent). PMID:10137796

Various methods are available for estimating usual dietary intake distributions. Hence, there is a need for simulation studies to compare them. The methods Iowa State University (ISU), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Multiple Source Method (MSM) and Statistical Program to Assess Dietary Exposure (SPADE) were previously compared in another study, but some results were inconclusive due to the small number of replications used in the simulation. Seeking to overcome this limitation, the present study used 1000 simulated samples for 12 different scenarios to compare the accuracy of estimates yielded by the aforementioned methods. The focus is on scenarios that exhibited the most uncertainty in the conclusions of the mentioned study above, i.e., scenarios with small sample sizes, skewed intake distributions, and large ratios of the between- and within-person variances. Bias was used as a measure of accuracy. For scenarios with small sample sizes (n=150), the ISU, MSM and SPADE methods generally achieved more accurate estimates than the NCI method, particularly for the 10th and 90th percentiles. The differences between methods became smaller with larger sample sizes (n = 300 and n = 500). With few exceptions, the methods were found to perform similarly. PMID:26999193

The perennial or intermittent status of a stream has bearing on many regulatory requirements. Because of changing technologies over time, cartographic representation of perennial/intermittent status of streams on U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps is not always accurate and (or) consistent from one map sheet to another. Idaho Administrative Code defines an intermittent stream as one having a 7-day, 2-year low flow (7Q2) less than 0.1 cubic feet per second. To establish consistency with the Idaho Administrative Code, the USGS developed regional regression equations for Idaho streams for several low-flow statistics, including 7Q2. Using these regression equations, the 7Q2 streamflow may be estimated for naturally flowing streams anywhere in Idaho to help determine perennial/intermittent status of streams. Using these equations in conjunction with a Geographic Information System (GIS) technique known as weighted flow accumulation allows for an automated and continuous estimation of 7Q2 streamflow at all points along a stream, which in turn can be used to determine if a stream is intermittent or perennial according to the Idaho Administrative Code operational definition. The selected regression equations were applied to create continuous grids of 7Q2 estimates for the eight low-flow regression regions of Idaho. By applying the 0.1 ft3/s criterion, the perennial streams have been estimated in each low-flow region. Uncertainty in the estimates is shown by identifying a 'transitional' zone, corresponding to flow estimates of 0.1 ft3/s plus and minus one standard error. Considerable additional uncertainty exists in the model of perennial streams presented in this report. The regression models provide overall estimates based on general trends within each regression region. These models do not include local factors such as a large spring or a losing reach that may greatly affect flows at any given point. Site-specific flow data, assuming a sufficient period of

Nutrients provide the chemical life-support system for phytoplankton in the ocean. Together with the carbon fixed during photosynthesis, nutrients provide the other elements, such as N and P, needed to synthesize macromolecules to build cellular constituents such as ribosomes. The makeup of these various biochemicals, such as proteins, pigments, and nucleic acids, together determine the elemental stoichiometry of an individual phytoplankton cell. The stoichiometry of different phytoplankton species or groups will vary depending on the proportions of distinct cellular machinery, such as for growth or resource acquisition, they require for their life strategies. The uptake of nutrients by phytoplankton helps to set the primary productivity, and drives the biological pump, of the global ocean. In the case of nitrogen, the supply of nutrients is categorized as either new or regenerated. The supply of new nitrogen, such as nitrate upwelled from the ocean' interior or biological nitrogen fixation, is equal to the vertical export of particular organic matter from the upper ocean on a timescale of years. Nutrients such as silica can also play a structural role in some phytoplankton groups, such as diatoms, where they are used to synthesize a siliceous frustule that offers some mechanical protection from grazers. In this chapter, we also explore nutrient uptake kinetics, patterns in nutrient distributions in space and time, the biogeochemical cycle of nitrogen, the atmospheric supply of nutrients, departures from the Redfield ratio, and whether nutrient distributions and cycling will be altered in the future

The coastal areas of the Southern North Sea (SNS) experience eutrophication problems resulting from freshwater nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) inputs from rivers. In particular, massive blooms of Phaeocystis colonies occur in Belgian waters. In this region, water masses result from the mixing of Western Channel (WCH) waters transported through the Straits of Dover with nutrient-rich freshwater from the Scheldt, the Rhine and Meuse, the Seine, the Thames and other smaller rivers. However, the relative contribution of the WCH and each river to the inorganic nutrient pool and the impact on the phytoplankton community structure (diatoms and Phaeocystis) are not known. In order to effectively manage the eutrophication problems, it is necessary to know: (i) the relative contribution of the WCH and of each river impacting the region and (ii) the relative effect of a N and/or P nutrient reduction on the Phaeocystis blooms. To answer these questions, sensitivity tests (1% nutrient reduction) and nutrient reduction scenarios (50% nutrient reduction) have been performed with a three-dimensional (3D) coupled physical-biogeochemical model (MIRO&CO-3D). MIRO&CO-3D results from the coupling of the COHERENS 3D hydrodynamic model with the ecological model MIRO. The model has been set up for the region between 48.5°N, 4°W and 52.5°N, 4.5°E and run to simulate the annual cycle of carbon, inorganic and organic nutrients, phytoplankton (diatoms and Phaeocystis), bacteria and zooplankton (microzooplankton and copepods) in the SNS under realistic forcing (meteorology and river inputs) for the period 1991-2003. The relative contribution of the WCH waters and of the different rivers on the inorganic nutrient pool available for phytoplankton (diatoms and Phaeocystis) growth is assessed by decreasing by 1% the nutrient (dissolved inorganic nitrogen, DIN and inorganic phosphate, PO 4) inputs from the WCH and from, respectively, the Scheldt (and smaller Belgian rivers), the Rhine/Meuse and

The construction of synthetic estimation filters (SEF) for out-of-plane rotation is reported. When images corresponding to rotations between the angles which were used to construct the estimator were input to the simulator, the yaw measurement accuracy was a little better than one-half of a degree over the five degree range. If individual phase-only filters were used and the only criteria for yaw angle was 'best correlation', 11 filter would be required for the same range and accuracy. The technique proposed here is invariant to translation.

It is difficult to understand the processes that structure immensely complex bacterial communities in the soil environment, necessitating a simplifying experimental approach. Here, we set up a microcosm culturing experiment with soil bacteria, at a range of nutrient concentrations, and compared these over time to understand the relationship between soil bacterial community structure and time/nutrient concentration. DNA from each replicate was analysed using HiSeq2000 Illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. We found that each nutrient treatment, and each time point during the experiment, produces characteristic bacterial communities that occur predictably between replicates. It is clear that within the context of this experiment, many soil bacteria have distinct niches from one another, in terms of both nutrient concentration, and successional time point since a resource first became available. This fine niche differentiation may in part help to explain the coexistence of a diversity of bacteria in soils. In this experiment, we show that the unimodal relationship between nutrient concentration/time and species diversity often reported in communities of larger organisms is also evident in microbial communities. PMID:25913898

1. The taxonomic composition and biomass of the phytoplankton and the taxonomic composition of the phytobenthos of the San Joaquin River and its major tributaries were examined in relation to water chemistry, habitat and flow regime. Agricultural drainage and subsurface flow contribute to a complex gradient of salinity and nutrients in this eutrophic, 'lowland type' river. 2. Because of light-limiting conditions for growth, maintenance demands of the algae exceed production during summer and autumn in the San Joaquin River where there is no inflow from tributaries. In contrast to substantial gains in concentration of inorganic nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphorus during the summer of normal-flow years, net losses of algal biomass (2-4 ??g L-1 day-1 chlorophyll a) occurred in a mid-river segment with no significant tributary inflow. However, downstream of a large tributary draining the Sierra Nevada, a substantial net gain in algal biomass (6-11 ??g L-1 day-1) occurred in the summer, but not in the spring (loss of 1-6 ??g L-1 day-1) or autumn (loss of 2-5 ??g L-1 day-1). 3. The phytoplankton was dominated in summer by 'r-selected' centric diatoms (Thalassiosirales), species both tolerant of variable salinity and widely distributed in the San Joaquin River. Pennate diatoms were proportionally more abundant (in biomass) in the winter, spring and autumn. Abundant taxa included the diatoms Cyclotella meneghiniana, Skeletonema cf. potamos, Cyclostephanos invisitatus, Thalassiosira weissflogii, Nitzschia acicularis, N. palea and N. reversa, and the chlorophytes Chlamydomonas sp. and Scenesdesmus quadricauda. Patterns in the abundance of species indicated that assembly of the phytoplankton is limited more by light and flow regime than by nutrient supply. 4. The phytobenthos was dominated by larger, more slowly reproducing pennate diatoms. Few of the abundant species are euryhaline. The diatoms Navicula recens and Nitzschia inconspicua and cyanophytes, Oscillatoria spp

A key challenge in oceanography is to capture and quantify processes that happen on short time scales, seasonal changes and inter-annual variations. To address this problem the P&O European Ferries Ltd. Ship MV Pride of Bilbao was fitted with a FerryBox from 2002 to 2010 and data returned to NOC in real time providing near continuous measurements between UK (Portsmouth) and Spain (Bilbao) of temperature, salinity, chlorophyll-fluorescence and oxygen. Additional monthly samples were collected on manned crossings. Over 6000 samples were analysed for nitrate (nitrate and nitrite) concentrations. The timing of nitrate concentration increases (with winter mixing) and decreases (with the spring bloom) are different on and off shelf and in autumn nitrate concentrations remain high on the shelf. Off shelf in the Bay of Biscay, the mixed layer depth assessed using Argo floats, was found to vary from 212 m in relatively mild winters (such as 2007/2008) to 476 m in cold winters (2009/2010). Years with deeper mixing were associated with an increase in nitrate concentrations in the surface waters (~3 μmol l-1) and the increased vertical nutrient supply resulted in higher productivity the following spring. Bloom progression could be seen through the increase in oxygen anomaly and decrease in nitrate concentrations off shelf prior to changes further north on the shelf and phytoplankton growth was initiated as shoaling begins. The full dataset demonstrates that ships of opportunity, particularly ferries with consistently repeated routes, can deliver high quality in situ measurements over large time and space scales that currently cannot be delivered in any other way.

Water quality in nontidal headwater (first-order) streams of the Coastal Plain during base flow in the late winter and spring is related to land use, hydrogeology, and other natural or human influences in contributing watersheds. A random survey of 174 headwater streams of the Mi...

Wine lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are responsible for the malolactic fermentation (MLF) in wine production. Wine LAB have fastidious nutrient requirements but their auxotrophies remain little studied. The ability of specific wine nutrients to meet the nutritional requirements of wine LAB, and thus support MLF, remains unclear. This work investigated the essential growth requirements of four strains of wine LAB from the genera Oenococcus and Lactobacillus using the single omission technique with a suitable chemically defined medium. For the determination of auxotrophies, at least 3 (and up to 15) subcultures in deficient media were made, and intra- and extracellular nutrient carry over was reduced by small inoculation rates and washing cells 3 times between transfers. This careful methodology revealed more auxotrophies than those described for wine LAB in the literature. The essential bacterial nutrient requirements were found to be strain specific. 10 compounds were essential for all wine LAB tested, the carbon and phosphate source, manganese, as well as several amino acids (proline, arginine and the branched amino acids valine, leucine and isoleucine) and vitamins (nicotinic acid and pantothenic acids). Nucleotides were not essential for any of the bacteria studied. The two Oenococcus oeni strains revealed a larger number of auxotrophies (18 and 21) and had a higher degree of nutritional similarity (86%) defined as percentage of common requirements per maximum total requirements. The two Lactobacillus strains only had 11 and 14 auxotrophies and the similarity was 79%, but both were auxotroph for riboflavin, which was not needed by the O. oeni strains. Data on the common requirements may be used to further study the ability of wines or commercial nutrients to support MLF and to consider the microbiological stability of finished wines. The results indicate that absence of riboflavin in oenological nutrient preparations may allow to create a specific advantage for

Nutrient management has been defined as “the science and art directed to link soil, crop, weather and hydrologic factors with cultural, irrigation and soil and water conservation practices to achieve the goals of optimizing nutrient use efficiency, yields, crop quality, and economic returns, while r...

Nutrient management has been defined as “the science and art directed to link soil, crop, weather and hydrologic factors with cultural, irrigation and soil and water conservation practices to achieve the goals of optimizing nutrient use efficiency, yields, crop quality, and economic returns, while r...

The small-watershed approach to problems of nutrient cycling has these advantages. (i) The small watershed is a natural unit of suitable size for intensive study of nutrient cycling at the ecosystem level. (ii) It provides a means of reducing to a minimum, or virtually eliminating, the effect of the difficult-to-measure variables of geologic input and nutrient losses in deep seepage. Control of these variables makes possible accurate measurement of nutrient input and output (erosion) and therefore establishes the relationship of the smaller ecosystem to the larger biospheric cycles. (iii) The small-watershed approach provides a method whereby such important parameters as nutrient release from minerals (weathering) and annual nutrient budgets may be calculated. (iv) It provides a means of studying the interrelationships between the biota and the hydrologic cycle, various nutrient cycles, and energy flow in a single system. (v) Finally, with the small-watershed system we can test the effect of various land-management practices or environmental pollutants on nutrient cycling in natural systems. PMID:17737551

Onions (Allium cepa L.) generally are harvested based on percentage of tops broken over. Since plant metabolism changes over time, percentage of tops broken over may be used to determine a harvest time to deliver marketable bulbs with the best nutrient content. The cultivars Candy and Texas Grano ...

Vitamin D has been identified as a nutrient of top public health concern because of its role in bone health and its link to other diseases and conditions. However, there are many knowledge gaps in the study of vitamin D, including lack of updated analytical data and accurate intake estimates from na...

Background In Sweden, school meals are served free of charge and Swedish law states that school meals must be nutritious. Nevertheless, data on children's energy and nutrient intake from school meals are scarce. Objective The aim was to describe the contribution of school meals to Swedish children's nutrient and energy intake during weekdays and compare this to the reference values based on the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations (NNR), which have been adopted as the official Swedish recommendations. Design A cross-sectional food consumption survey was performed on 1,840 Swedish children attending Grade 2 (mean age 8.6) and Grade 5 (mean age 11.7). The children's nutrient and energy intake was compared to the reference values based on the NNR. Results The mean intake from school meals of energy, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and vitamins D and E did not reach the reference values and the intake of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and sodium exceeded the reference values in both age groups (significant differences, all p≤0.001). Additionally, the pupils in Grade 5 did not reach the reference values for folate, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, selenium, and zinc (significant differences, all p≤0.001). Standardized for energy, dietary fiber, PUFA, and vitamins D and E did not reach the reference values, whereas the reference values for SFA and sodium were exceeded in both age groups (significant differences, all p≤0.001). Conclusions The study pointed to some central nutrients in need of improvement as regards school meals in Sweden, namely the quality of fat, dietary fiber, sodium, vitamin D, and iron. Some of these results may be attributed to the children not reporting eating the recommended number of calories, the children omitting some components of the meal, or underreporting, as a consequence of which the reference values for several nutrients were not met. PMID:26522664

The hybrid mechanistic-statistical catchment model SPARROW was applied to predict the mean annual load of nitrogen and phosphorus in streams throughout New Zealand (270,000 km2). The loads from land areas, point sources, and erosion are routed through the drainage network (576,300 reaches) with first-order stream decay and attenuation in lakes and reservoirs. Model parameters were determined by calibration against loads measured in the national water quality network (77 sites). For nitrogen, the model predicted the measured loads well (R2 of 0.956 and RMSE of 0.33 in natural-log space), while for phosphorus the model fit was not as good (R2 of 0.900 and RMSE of 0.58). The predictions of exported yields for streams with catchments > 20 km2 are broadly comparable with previous compilations of yields for various land-use classes for nitrogen, but are larger than the previous measurements for phosphorus. The calibrated stream attenuation and lake/reservoir rates were broadly consistent with previous measurements. The predicted load of total nitrogen (TN) delivered to the coast was 167,700 t yr-1, which is 45% of the loads entering the streams. For total phosphorus (TP) the predicted load to the coast was 63,100 t yr-1, 44% of the load entering the streams. Reservoir/lake attenuation makes a relatively small contribution to the overall attenuation compared with in-stream attenuation (3.5% for nitrogen and 8.5% for phosphorus). The largest contribution of total nitrogen is from pastoral land uses, together accounting for 70% of the total nitrogen load to the coast. Land used for dairying makes a disproportionately large contribution to the load of total nitrogen in relation to the area of land (37% of the load versus 6.8% of the land). For total phosphorus, the highest contribution of the load to the coast is from erosion (53.2%). Point sources contribute only a small proportion of the load to the coast (3.2% for nitrogen, 1.8% for total phosphorus). The monitoring

To estimate the effects of storms on nutrient transport, dissolved nutrients and suspended sediment loads were measured relative to stream discharge in the Yaquina River, OR for three storm events. Episodic events, particularly high rainfall or flood events may transport high di...

We hypothesized that wastewater leaching from on-site sanitation systems to alluvial aquifers underlying informal settlements (or slums) may end up contributing to high nutrient loads to surface water upon groundwater exfiltration. Hence, we conducted a hydro-geochemical study in a shallow sandy aquifer in Bwaise III parish, an urban slum area in Kampala, Uganda, to assess the geochemical processes controlling the transport and fate of dissolved nutrients (NO3, NH4 and PO4) released from on-site sanitation systems to groundwater. Groundwater was collected from 26 observation wells. The samples were analyzed for major ions (Ca, Mg, Na, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cl and SO4) and nutrients (o-PO4, NO3 and NH4). Data was also collected on soil characteristics, aquifer conductivity and hydraulic heads. Geochemical modeling using PHREEQC was used to determine the level of o-PO4 control by mineral solubility and sorption. Groundwater below the slum area was anoxic and had near neutral pH values, high values of EC (average of 1619 μS/cm) and high concentrations of Cl (3.2 mmol/L), HCO3 (11 mmol/L) and nutrients indicating the influence from wastewater leachates especially from pit latrines. Nutrients were predominantly present as NH4 (1-3 mmol/L; average of 2.23 mmol/L). The concentrations of NO3 and o-PO4 were, however, low: average of 0.2 mmol/L and 6 μmol/L respectively. We observed a contaminant plume along the direction of groundwater flow (NE-SW) characterized by decreasing values of EC and Cl, and distinct redox zones. The redox zones transited from NO3-reducing in upper flow areas to Fe-reducing in the lower flow areas. Consequently, the concentrations of NO3 decreased downgradient of the flow path due to denitrification. Ammonium leached directly into the alluvial aquifer was also partially removed because the measured concentrations were less than the potential input from pit latrines (3.2 mmol/L). We attributed this removal (about 30%) to anaerobic ammonium oxidation

We hypothesized that wastewater leaching from on-site sanitation systems to alluvial aquifers underlying informal settlements (or slums) may end up contributing to high nutrient loads to surface water upon groundwater exfiltration. Hence, we conducted a hydro-geochemical study in a shallow sandy aquifer in Bwaise III parish, an urban slum area in Kampala, Uganda, to assess the geochemical processes controlling the transport and fate of dissolved nutrients (NO3, NH4 and PO4) released from on-site sanitation systems to groundwater. Groundwater was collected from 26 observation wells. The samples were analyzed for major ions (Ca, Mg, Na, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cl and SO4) and nutrients (o-PO4, NO3 and NH4). Data was also collected on soil characteristics, aquifer conductivity and hydraulic heads. Geochemical modeling using PHREEQC was used to determine the level of o-PO4 control by mineral solubility and sorption. Groundwater below the slum area was anoxic and had near neutral pH values, high values of EC (average of 1619μS/cm) and high concentrations of Cl (3.2mmol/L), HCO3 (11mmol/L) and nutrients indicating the influence from wastewater leachates especially from pit latrines. Nutrients were predominantly present as NH4 (1-3mmol/L; average of 2.23mmol/L). The concentrations of NO3 and o-PO4 were, however, low: average of 0.2mmol/L and 6μmol/L respectively. We observed a contaminant plume along the direction of groundwater flow (NE-SW) characterized by decreasing values of EC and Cl, and distinct redox zones. The redox zones transited from NO3-reducing in upper flow areas to Fe-reducing in the lower flow areas. Consequently, the concentrations of NO3 decreased downgradient of the flow path due to denitrification. Ammonium leached directly into the alluvial aquifer was also partially removed because the measured concentrations were less than the potential input from pit latrines (3.2mmol/L). We attributed this removal (about 30%) to anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) given

Remotely sensing the water status of plants and the water content of canopies remain long term goals of remote sensing research. In the research we report here, we used optical polarization techniques to monitor the light reflected from the leaf interior, R, as well as the leaf transmittance, T, as the relative water content (RWC) of corn (Zea mays) leaves decreased. Our results show that R and T both change nonlinearly. The result show that the nonlinearities cancel in the ratio R/T, which appears linearly related to RWC for RWC less than 90%. The results suggest that potentially leaf water status and perhaps even canopy water status could be monitored starting from leaf and canopy optical measurements.

Rapid on-farm assessment of manure nutrient content can be achieved with the use of quick tests. These tests can be used to indirectly measure the nutrient content in animal slurries immediately before manure is applied on agricultural fields. The objective of this study was to assess the reliability of hydrometers, electrical conductivity meter and pens, and Agros N meter against standard laboratory methods. Manure samples were collected from 34 dairy farms in the Mammoth Cave area in central Kentucky. Regression equations were developed for combined and individual counties located In the area (Barren, Hart and Monroe). Our results indicated that accuracy in nutrientestimation could be improved if separate linear regressions were developed for farms with similar facilities in a county. Direct hydrometer estimates of total nitrogen were among the most accurate when separate regression equations were developed for each county (R2 = 0.61, 0.93, and 0.74 for Barren, Hart and Monroe county, respectively). Reasonably accurate estimates (R2 > 0.70) were also obtained for total nitrogen and total phosphorus using hydrometers, either by relating specific gravity to nutrient content or to total solids content. Estimation of ammoniacal nitrogen with Agros N meter and electrical conductivity meter/pens correlated well with standard laboratory determinations, especially while using the individual data sets from Hart County (R2 = 0.70 to 0.87). This study indicates that the use of quick test calibration equations developed for a small area or region where farms are similar in terms of manure handling and management, housing, and feed ration are more appropriate than using "universal" equations usually developed with combined data sets. Accuracy is expected to improve if individual farms develop their own calibration curves. Nevertheless, we suggest confidence intervals always be specified for nutrientsestimated through quick testing for any specific region, county, or farm

.5% and 59.6%, respectively, as an average of the four experiments). Large differences in AA profile were observed between SAB and LAB. The prediction equation obtained using (15)N as the marker may be used to correct the errors associated with the traditional use of LAB as the reference sample, and therefore to obtain more accurate estimates of the microbial nutrient supply to the ruminants. PMID:22436226

study provides the first physically based mass-balanced transport estimates of dissolved inorganic nutrients (nitrate, phosphate, and silicate) for the Arctic Ocean. Using an inverse model-generated velocity field in combination with a quasi-synoptic assemblage of hydrographic and hydrochemical data, we quantify nutrient transports across the main Arctic Ocean gateways: Davis Strait, Fram Strait, the Barents Sea Opening (BSO), and Bering Strait. We found that the major exports of all three nutrients occur via Davis Strait. Transports associated with the East Greenland Current are almost balanced by transports associated with the West Spitsbergen Current. The most important imports of nitrate and phosphate to the Arctic occur via the BSO, and the most important import of silicate occurs via Bering Strait. Oceanic budgets show that statistically robust net silicate and phosphate exports exist, while the net nitrate flux is zero, within the uncertainty limits. The Arctic Ocean is a net exporter of silicate (-15.7 ± 3.2 kmol s-1) and phosphate (-1.0 ± 0.3 kmol s-1; net ± 1 standard error) to the North Atlantic. The export of excess phosphate (relative to nitrate) from the Arctic, calculated at -1.1 ± 0.3 kmol s-1, is almost twice as large as previously estimated. Net transports of silicate and phosphate from the Arctic Ocean provide 12% and 90%, respectively, of the net southward fluxes estimated at 47°N in the North Atlantic. Additional sources of nutrients that may offset nutrient imbalances are explored, and the relevance and the pathway of nutrient transports to the North Atlantic are discussed.

Spatially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models were developed to provide spatially explicit information on local and regional total nitrogen and total phosphorus sources and transport in the Missouri River Basin. Model results provide estimates of the relative contributions from various nutrient sources and delivery factors. The models also describe instream decay and reservoir and lake attenuation of nutrients. Results aid in the prioritization of nutrient-reduction strategies by identifying major sources and delivery factors contributing to instream nutrient loads and stream reaches carrying the largest nutrient loads in the Missouri River Basin.

Pastures are fundamentally different than croplands. When cropland is harvested, large amounts of plant nutrients are removed so relatively large rates of nutrients are often needed. In pasture, most of the nutrients harvested by livestock are returned. The proportion of nutrients returned by livest...

The intensification of western boundary currents in the global ocean will potentially influence meso-scale eddy generation, and redistribute microbes and their associated ecological and biogeochemical functions. To understand eddy-induced changes in microbial community composition as well as how they control growth, we targeted the East Australian Current (EAC) region to sample microbes in a cyclonic (cold-core) eddy (CCE) and the adjacent EAC. Phototrophic and diazotrophic microbes were more diverse (2-10 times greater Shannon index) in the CCE relative to the EAC, and the cell size distribution in the CCE was dominated (67%) by larger micro-plankton [Formula: see text], as opposed to pico- and nano-sized cells in the EAC. Nutrient addition experiments determined that nitrogen was the principal nutrient limiting growth in the EAC, while iron was a secondary limiting nutrient in the CCE. Among the diazotrophic community, heterotrophic NifH gene sequences dominated in the EAC and were attributable to members of the gamma-, beta-, and delta-proteobacteria, while the CCE contained both phototrophic and heterotrophic diazotrophs, including Trichodesmium, UCYN-A and gamma-proteobacteria. Daily sampling of incubation bottles following nutrient amendment captured a cascade of effects at the cellular, population and community level, indicating taxon-specific differences in the speed of response of microbes to nutrient supply. Nitrogen addition to the CCE community increased picoeukaryote chlorophyll a quotas within 24 h, suggesting that nutrient uplift by eddies causes a 'greening' effect as well as an increase in phytoplankton biomass. After three days in both the EAC and CCE, diatoms increased in abundance with macronutrient (N, P, Si) and iron amendment, whereas haptophytes and phototrophic dinoflagellates declined. Our results indicate that cyclonic eddies increase delivery of nitrogen to the upper ocean to potentially mitigate the negative consequences of increased

The intensification of western boundary currents in the global ocean will potentially influence meso-scale eddy generation, and redistribute microbes and their associated ecological and biogeochemical functions. To understand eddy-induced changes in microbial community composition as well as how they control growth, we targeted the East Australian Current (EAC) region to sample microbes in a cyclonic (cold-core) eddy (CCE) and the adjacent EAC. Phototrophic and diazotrophic microbes were more diverse (2–10 times greater Shannon index) in the CCE relative to the EAC, and the cell size distribution in the CCE was dominated (67%) by larger micro-plankton \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} }{}$(\\geq 20\\lrm{\\mu }\\mathrm{m})$\\end{document}≥20μm, as opposed to pico- and nano-sized cells in the EAC. Nutrient addition experiments determined that nitrogen was the principal nutrient limiting growth in the EAC, while iron was a secondary limiting nutrient in the CCE. Among the diazotrophic community, heterotrophic NifH gene sequences dominated in the EAC and were attributable to members of the gamma-, beta-, and delta-proteobacteria, while the CCE contained both phototrophic and heterotrophic diazotrophs, including Trichodesmium, UCYN-A and gamma-proteobacteria. Daily sampling of incubation bottles following nutrient amendment captured a cascade of effects at the cellular, population and community level, indicating taxon-specific differences in the speed of response of microbes to nutrient supply. Nitrogen addition to the CCE community increased picoeukaryote chlorophyll a quotas within 24 h, suggesting that nutrient uplift by eddies causes a ‘greening’ effect as well as an increase in phytoplankton biomass. After three days in both the EAC and CCE, diatoms

In tropical and subtropical zones, coastal lagoons are surrounded by mangrove communities which are a source of high quantity organic matter that enters the aquatic system through litter fall. This organic matter decomposes, becoming a source of nutrients and other substances such as tannins, fulvic acids and humic acids that may affect the composition and productivity of phytoplankton communities. Sontecomapan is a coastal lagoon located in the southern Gulf of Mexico, which receives abundant litter fall from mangrove. To study the phytoplankton composition and its variation in this lagoon from October 2002 to October 2003, we evaluated the concentrations of dissolved folin phenol active substances (FPAS) as a measure of plant organic matter, salinity, temperature, pH, O 2, N-NH 4+, N-NO 3-, P-PO 43-, Si-SiO 2, and phytoplanktonic cell density in different mangrove influence zones including the three main rivers that feed the lagoon. Nutrients concentrations depended on freshwater from rivers, however these varied seasonally. Concentrations of P-PO 43-, N-NH 4+ and FPAS were the highest in the dry season, when maximum mangrove litter fall is reported. Variation of these nutrients seemed to depend on the internal biogeochemical processes of the lagoon. Blooms of diatoms ( Skeletonema spp., Cyclotella spp. and Chaetoceros holsaticus) and dinoflagellates ( Peridinium aff. quinquecorne, Prorocentrum cordatum) occurred seasonally and in the different mangrove influence zones. The high cell densities in these zones and the occurrence of certain species and its ordination along gradient of FPAS in a canonical correspondence analysis, suggest that plant organic matter (i.e. mangrove influence) may contribute to phytoplankton dynamics in Sontecomapan lagoon.

Expansion of Typha domingensis into areas previously dominated by Cladium jamaicense in the Florida Everglades has been linked to anthropogenic phosphorus (P) enrichment and increased hydroperiod. The principal stress factor for plants in flooded soils is biochemical reduction, the intensity of which is measured as redox potential (Eh). The objective of this study was to assess the growth response of C. jamaicense to Eh (-150, +150, and +600 mV) and P availability (10, 80, and 500 ??g P/L). Plants were grown hydroponically in a factorial experiment using titanium (Ti3+) citrate as an Eh buffer. Treatment effects on growth, biomass partitioning, and tissue nutrients were recorded. Growth approximately doubled in response to a 50-fold increase in P availability. Low redox significantly reduced growth and tissue P concentration. While plant P concentrations increased 20-fold between the 10 and 500 ??g P/L treatments, P concentrations were 50-100% higher at +600 mV than at -150 mV within each phosphate level. At high Eh, C. jamaicense appears well adapted to low nutrient environments because of its low P requirement and high retention of acquired E However, at low Eh the ability to acquire or conserve acquired P decreases and as a consequence, higher phosphate levels are required to sustain growth. Findings of this study indicate that young C. jamaicense exhibits low tolerance to strongly reducing conditions when phosphate is scarce.

A high resolution numerical study is undertaken to simulate an upwelling event along the northern coast of the Gulf of Finland, 21-29 July 1999, which was documented well by in situ and remote measurements. The simulated sequence of SST maps shows a reasonably good resemblance to that of satellite infrared imagery, including both mesoscale coherent structures (filaments or squirts) and the whole process of post-upwelling relaxation of the temperature field. Upwelling along the northern coast of the Gulf is accompanied by downwelling along the southern coast so that two longshore baroclinic jets and related fronts are developed simultaneously. When the strong westerly winds producing the upwelling/downwelling weaken, the longshore jets become unstable and produce transverse jets, cold/warm water squirts. Using pseudo-random simulated fields of temperature and velocity of currents, the apparent lateral diffusivity due to squirts is directly estimated at 500 m2 s-1. The model is also applied to estimatenutrient transport. Simulated phosphate concentration in the surface layer at the cold side of upwelling front is found to be about 0.3 mmol m-3 which is consistent with observations. The total content of phosphorus and nitrogen in the upper 10 m layer of the Gulf introduced by the upwelling event is estimated to be 387 and 36 tons, respectively. It follows, that the upwelling event transports nutrients into the upper layer with clear excess of phosphorus (N:P = 36:387 = 0.093) compared to the Redfield ratio of 7.2. Therefore phosphorus input caused by upwelling during summer most likely promotes nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria blooms.

River basins are geo-hydrological units. Water flowing out of the basin bears the imprint of natural factors such as geology, soil, vegetation and rainfall along with anthropogenic factors including the type and degree of human intervention within the basin. Pamba, a small mountainous river in the SW coast of India with a population density of ~1,400 persons km-2 was studied for its varying land use and human interventions as the global database are biased towards temperate regions while little is know about the smaller catchments from tropical regions. Land use comprised of dense forest in the highland region together with forest plantation and the human impacted Sabarimala temple- the second largest pilgrim, settlement with mixed tree crop (smt) in the midland and lowland paddy cultivated region. 50-60 million devotees visiting Sabarimala during November to January every year associated with the ritual bathing, discharge of human wastes emanating from the influx of millions of pilgrims due to inadequate number of sanitary latrines and the lack of facilities for sewage collection and treatment caused several ecological variations during pilgrim season. In order to asses the effect of land use and pilgrims in combination with seasonal variations in hydrology we investigated the seasonal and spatial variations in physicochemical and nutrient concentrations. Samples were collected from March 2010 to February 2012 during premonsoon (January-May), SW(June to September) and NE monsoon(October to December), from sites varying in land use. Nutrient budgets (load and yield) were calculated to quantify the inputs from various land use segments. Spatio-temporal variations in the physicochemical and dissolved nutrient concentrations were observed along the course of the river. Upstream forest region had highest dissolved oxygen(DO) and pH together with lowest dissolved inorganic nitrogen(DIN) values indicating almost pristine conditions. DIN in the temple region had the

Lessons written to help trainer agents prepare aides for work with families in the Food and Nutrition Program are presented in this booklet. The key nutrients discussed in the 10 lessons are protein, carbohydrates, fat, calcium, iron, iodine, and Vitamins A, B, C, and D. the format of each lesson is as follows: Purpose, Presentation, Application…

The extreme 2010-2011 wet season resulted in highly elevated Burdekin River discharge into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon for a period of 200 days, resulting in a large flood plume extending >50km offshore and >100km north during peak conditions. Export of suspended sediment was dominated by clay and fine silt fractions and most sediment initially settled within ∼10km of the river mouth. Biologically-mediated flocculation of these particles enhanced deposition in the initial low salinity zone. Fine silt and clay particles and nutrients remaining in suspension, were carried as far as 100km northward from the mouth, binding with planktonic and transparent exopolymer particulate matter to form large floc aggregates (muddy marine snow). These aggregates, due to their sticky nature, likely pose a risk to benthic organisms e.g. coral and seagrass through smothering, and also by contributing to increased turbidity during wind-induced resuspension events. PMID:22364951

Although ecologists believe that vertebrate herbivores must select a diet that allows them to meet their nutritional requirements, while avoiding intoxication by plant secondary metabolites, this is remarkably difficult to show. A long series of field and laboratory experiments means that we have a good understanding of the factors that affect feeding by leaf-eating marsupials. This knowledge and the natural intraspecific variation in Eucalyptus chemistry allowed us to test the hypothesis that the feeding decisions of greater gliders (Petauroides volans) depend on the concentrations of available nitrogen (incorporating total nitrogen, dry matter digestibility and tannins) and of formylated phloroglucinol compounds (FPCs), potent antifeedants unique to Eucalyptus. We offered captive greater gliders foliage from two species of Eucalyptus, E. viminalis and E. melliodora, which vary naturally in their concentrations of available nitrogen and FPCs. We then measured the amount of foliage eaten by each glider and compared this with our laboratory analyses of foliar total nitrogen, available nitrogen and FPCs for each tree offered. The concentration of FPCs was the main factor that determined how much gliders ate of E. viminalis and E. melliodora, but in gliders fed E. viminalis the concentration of available nitrogen was also a significant influence. In other words, greater gliders ate E. viminalis leaves with a particular combination of FPCs and available nitrogen that maximised the nutritional gain but minimised their ingestion of toxins. In contrast, the concentration of total nitrogen was not correlated with feeding. This study is among the first to empirically show that browsing herbivores select a diet that balances the potential gain (available nutrients) and the potential costs (plant secondary chemicals) of eating leaves. The major implication of the study is that it is essential to identify the limiting nutrients and relevant toxins in a system in order to

Although ecologists believe that vertebrate herbivores must select a diet that allows them to meet their nutritional requirements, while avoiding intoxication by plant secondary metabolites, this is remarkably difficult to show. A long series of field and laboratory experiments means that we have a good understanding of the factors that affect feeding by leaf-eating marsupials. This knowledge and the natural intraspecific variation in Eucalyptus chemistry allowed us to test the hypothesis that the feeding decisions of greater gliders (Petauroides volans) depend on the concentrations of available nitrogen (incorporating total nitrogen, dry matter digestibility and tannins) and of formylated phloroglucinol compounds (FPCs), potent antifeedants unique to Eucalyptus. We offered captive greater gliders foliage from two species of Eucalyptus, E. viminalis and E. melliodora, which vary naturally in their concentrations of available nitrogen and FPCs. We then measured the amount of foliage eaten by each glider and compared this with our laboratory analyses of foliar total nitrogen, available nitrogen and FPCs for each tree offered. The concentration of FPCs was the main factor that determined how much gliders ate of E. viminalis and E. melliodora, but in gliders fed E. viminalis the concentration of available nitrogen was also a significant influence. In other words, greater gliders ate E. viminalis leaves with a particular combination of FPCs and available nitrogen that maximised the nutritional gain but minimised their ingestion of toxins. In contrast, the concentration of total nitrogen was not correlated with feeding. This study is among the first to empirically show that browsing herbivores select a diet that balances the potential gain (available nutrients) and the potential costs (plant secondary chemicals) of eating leaves. The major implication of the study is that it is essential to identify the limiting nutrients and relevant toxins in a system in order to

Permafrost thaw ponds are ubiquitous in the eastern Canadian Arctic, yet little information exists on their potential as sources of methylmercury (MeHg) to freshwaters. They are microbially active and conducive to methylation of inorganic mercury, and are also affected by Arctic warming. This multiyear study investigated thaw ponds in a discontinuous permafrost region in the Subarctic taiga (Kuujjuarapik-Whapmagoostui, QC) and a continuous permafrost region in the Arctic tundra (Bylot Island, NU). MeHg concentrations in thaw ponds were well above levels measured in most freshwater ecosystems in the Canadian Arctic (>0.1 ng L(-1)). On Bylot, ice-wedge trough ponds showed significantly higher MeHg (0.3-2.2 ng L(-1)) than polygonal ponds (0.1-0.3 ng L(-1)) or lakes (<0.1 ng L(-1)). High MeHg was measured in the bottom waters of Subarctic thaw ponds near Kuujjuarapik (0.1-3.1 ng L(-1)). High water MeHg concentrations in thaw ponds were strongly correlated with variables associated with high inputs of organic matter (DOC, a320, Fe), nutrients (TP, TN), and microbial activity (dissolved CO2 and CH4). Thawing permafrost due to Arctic warming will continue to release nutrients and organic carbon into these systems and increase ponding in some regions, likely stimulating higher water concentrations of MeHg. Greater hydrological connectivity from permafrost thawing may potentially increase transport of MeHg from thaw ponds to neighboring aquatic ecosystems. PMID:26030209

Abstract The SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) model was used to perform an assessment of surface-water nutrient conditions and to identify important nutrient sources in watersheds of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States (U.S.) for the year 2002. Our models included variables representing nutrient sources as well as landscape characteristics that affect nutrient delivery to streams. Annual nutrient yields were higher in watersheds on the wetter, west side of the Cascade Range compared to watersheds on the drier, east side. High nutrient enrichment (relative to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recommended nutrient criteria) was estimated in watersheds throughout the region. Forest land was generally the largest source of total nitrogen stream load and geologic material was generally the largest source of total phosphorus stream load generated within the 12,039 modeled watersheds. These results reflected the prevalence of these two natural sources and the low input from other nutrient sources across the region. However, the combined input from agriculture, point sources, and developed land, rather than natural nutrient sources, was responsible for most of the nutrient load discharged from many of the largest watersheds. Our results provided an understanding of the regional patterns in surface-water nutrient conditions and should be useful to environmental managers in future water-quality planning efforts. PMID:22457584

The risks and benefits of fish from markets in Chinese cities have not previously been fully evaluated. In the present study, 24 common fish species with more than 400 individual samples were collected from markets from five big Chinese cities in 2007. The main nutrients and contaminants were measured and the risk-benefit was evaluated based on recommended nutrient intakes and risk level criteria set by relevant authorities. The comprehensive effects of nutrients and contaminants in marine oily fish were also evaluated using the data of two related human dietary intervention trials performed in dyslipidemic Chinese men and women in 2008 and 2010, respectively. The results showed that concentrations of contaminants analyzed including DDT, PCB(7), arsenic and cadmium were much lower than their corresponding maximum limits with the exception of the mercury concentration in common carp. Concentrations of POPs and n-3 LCPUFA, mainly EPA and DHA, were positively associated with the lipid content of the fish. With a daily intake of 80-100g marine oily fish, the persistent organic pollutants in fish would not counteract the beneficial effects of n-3 LCPUFA in reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk markers. Marine oily fish provided more effective protection against CVD than lean fish, particularly for the dyslipidemic populations. The risk-benefit assessment based on the present daily aquatic product intake in Chinese urban residents (44.9 and 62.3g for the average values for all cities and big cities, respectively) indicated that fish, particularly marine oily fish, can be regularly consumed to achieve optimal nutritional benefits from n-3 LCPUFA, without causing significant contaminant-related health risks. However, the potential health threat from contaminants in fish should still be emphasized for the populations consuming large quantities of fish, particularly wild fish. PMID:22225822

Understanding how much land use change has affected nutrient concentrations in aquatic ecosystems requires a way of estimating the nutrient concentrations that were present in these systems before they were altered. Pre-alteration data are generally not available, but models that associate natural landscape variation with stream nutrient concentrations can be used to predict natural nutrient concentrations. These models can also provide insight into which processes are primarily responsible for observed natural spatial and temporal variability in stream nutrient concentrations. We used data from 782 reference sites across the western USA to develop empirical models that predict natural, base-flow concentrations of total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN). Models were built using Random Forests, a nonparametric regression technique that accounts for both interactions between variables and non-linear relationships. We developed candidate predictor variables associated with nutrient sources, sinks, or other processes potentially affecting nutrient concentrations among sites. Factors associated with watershed geology and P availability were the most important predictors of TP. Climate and co-precipitates were less important predictors. TN concentrations were equally associated with climate, atmospheric deposition, and vegetation phenology. Both models were relatively accurate (Root Mean Squared Errors < 12% of the range of observations for independent validation sites) and made better predictions than previous models of natural nutrient concentrations. However, the models were not very precise (r2 = 0.46 for the TP model, and r2 = 0.23 for the TN model). An analysis of the sources of variation showed that our models accounted for a majority of the spatial variation in nutrient concentrations, and much of the imprecision was due to temporal or measurement variation in nutrient concentrations.

Background Compared to food patterns, nutrient patterns have been rarely used particularly at international level. We studied, in the context of a multi-center study with heterogeneous data, the methodological challenges regarding pattern analyses. Methodology/Principal Findings We identified nutrient patterns from food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Study and used 24-hour dietary recall (24-HDR) data to validate and describe the nutrient patterns and their related food sources. Associations between lifestyle factors and the nutrient patterns were also examined. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied on 23 nutrients derived from country-specific FFQ combining data from all EPIC centers (N = 477,312). Harmonized 24-HDRs available for a representative sample of the EPIC populations (N = 34,436) provided accurate mean group estimates of nutrients and foods by quintiles of pattern scores, presented graphically. An overall PCA combining all data captured a good proportion of the variance explained in each EPIC center. Four nutrient patterns were identified explaining 67% of the total variance: Principle component (PC) 1 was characterized by a high contribution of nutrients from plant food sources and a low contribution of nutrients from animal food sources; PC2 by a high contribution of micro-nutrients and proteins; PC3 was characterized by polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin D; PC4 was characterized by calcium, proteins, riboflavin, and phosphorus. The nutrients with high loadings on a particular pattern as derived from country-specific FFQ also showed high deviations in their mean EPIC intakes by quintiles of pattern scores when estimated from 24-HDR. Center and energy intake explained most of the variability in pattern scores. Conclusion/Significance The use of 24-HDR enabled internal validation and facilitated the interpretation of the nutrient patterns derived from FFQs

Total tract apparent digestibility of nutrients (DIG) is traditionally assessed by either total collection (TC) or by the indicator method (IM). The IM saves labor by measuring the concentration of an indigestible indicator (e.g. Cr2O3 [CO]) in feed and feces, purportedly resulting in similar DIG va...

The issue of feature point mismatching among infrared image sequence would bring big challenge to estimating the relative motion of non-cooperative spacecraft for it couldn't provide the prior knowledge about its geometric structure and motion pattern. The paper introduces particle filter to precisely match the feature points within a desired region predicted by a kinetic equation, and presents a least square estimation-based algorithm to measure the relative rolling motion of non-cooperative spacecraft. The state transition equation and the measurement update equation of non-cooperative spacecraft are represented by establishing its kinetic equations, and then the relative pose measurement is converted to the maximum posteriori probability estimation via assuming the uncertainties about geometric structure and motion pattern as random and time-varying variables. These uncertainties would be interpreted and even solved through continuously measuring the image feature points of the rotating non-cooperative infrared spacecraft. Subsequently, the feature point is matched within a predicted region among sequence infrared image using particle filter algorithm to overcome the position estimation noise caused by the uncertainties of geometric structure and motion pattern. Finally, the position parameters including rotation motion are estimated by means of solving the minimum error of feature point mismatching using least square estimate theory. Both simulated and real infrared image sequences are induced in the experiment to evaluate the performance of the relative rolling estimation, and the experimental data show that the rolling motion estimated by the proposed algorithm is more robust to the feature extraction noise and various rotation speed. Meanwhile, the relative rolling estimation error would increase dramatically with distance and rotation speed increasing.

This paper summaries the application of adaptive kernel density algorithm in the spatial relative risk estimation of communicable diseases by using the reported data of infectious diarrhea (other than cholera, dysentery, typhoid and paratyphoid) in Ludian county and surrounding area in Yunnan province in 2013. Statistically significant fluctuations in an estimated risk function were identified through the use of asymptotic tolerance contours, and finally these data were visualized though disease mapping. The results of spatial relative risk estimation and disease mapping showed that high risk areas were in southeastern Shaoyang next to Ludian. Therefore, the spatial relative risk estimation of disease by using adaptive kernel density algorithm and disease mapping technique is a powerful method in identifying high risk population and areas. PMID:26080648

An analysis of soil nutrientrelations in two forest communities on Long Island, NY, yielded a correlation between the fertility of the top-soil and vegetational composition. The oak-pine forest soils at Brookhaven National Laboratory contain lower average concentrations of NH/sub 3/, Ca, K, and organic matter than the mixed deciduous forest soils in the Stony Brook area. The pH of the topsoil is also more acidic at Brookhaven. The observed differences between localities are greater than within-locality differences between the two soil series tested (Plymouth and Riverhead), which are common to both localities. Nutrient concentrations in the subsoil are not consistently correlated with either locality or soil series, although organic matter and NH/sub 3/ show significantly higher concentrations at Stony Brook. Supporting data on density and basal area of trees and coverage of shrubs and herbs also reveals significant variation between the two forest communities. An ordination of the vegetation data shows higher similarity within than between localities, while no obvious pattern of within-locality variation due to soil series treatments is apparent. These data support the hypothesis that fertility gradients may influence forest community composition and structure. This hypothesis is discussed with reference to vegetation-soil interactions and other factors, such as frequency of burning, which may direct the future development of the Brookhaven oak-pine forest.

The relative dispersion of the cloud droplet spectrum is a very important parameter in describing and modeling cloud microphysical processes. Based on the definition of skewness as well as theoretical and data analyses, a linear fitting relationship (α = 2.91ɛ-0.59) between skewness (α) and relative dispersion (ɛ) is established and a new method is developed to estimate the relative dispersion of the cloud droplet spectrum. The new method does not depend on any assumption of a particular distribution for the cloud droplet spectrum and has broader applicability than the previous methods. Comparisons of the three methods for the relative dispersion with the observed data supported the following conclusions. (1) The skewness of the cloud droplet spectrum is asymmetrically distributed. An assumption of zero skewness in quantifying the relative dispersion inevitably results in relatively large deviations from the observations. Errors of the estimatedrelative dispersion due to the omission of the skewness term are not solely related to the skewness, but rather to the product of the skewness and relative dispersion. (2) The use of the assumption that the cloud droplet spectrum takes a gamma distribution is similar to the assumption that the skewness is twice the relative dispersion. This leads to a better accuracy in estimating the relative dispersion than that with zero skewness assumption. (3) Comparisons with observations show that the new method is more accurate than the one under gamma distribution assumption and is the best among all the three methods. (4) It is believed that finding a better correlation between the skewness and the relative dispersion would further reduce the deviations for the estimatedrelative dispersion.

Results from a numerical study examining cross-property relations linking fluid permeability to diffusive and electrical properties are presented. Numerical solutions of the Stokes equations in three-dimensional consolidated granular packings are employed to provide a basis of comparison between different permeability estimates. Estimates based on the [Lambda] parameter (a length derived from electrical conduction) and on [ital d][sub [ital c

The objective of change-point detection is to discover abrupt property changes lying behind time-series data. In this paper, we present a novel statistical change-point detection algorithm based on non-parametric divergence estimation between time-series samples from two retrospective segments. Our method uses the relative Pearson divergence as a divergence measure, and it is accurately and efficiently estimated by a method of direct density-ratio estimation. Through experiments on artificial and real-world datasets including human-activity sensing, speech, and Twitter messages, we demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed method. PMID:23500502

The problem of merging direct and remotely sensed (indirect) data with forecast data to get an estimate of the present state of the atmosphere for the purpose of numerical weather prediction is examined. To carry out this merging optimally, it is necessary to provide an estimate of the relative weights to be given to the observations and forecast. It is possible to do this dynamically from the information to be merged, if the correlation structure of the errors from the various sources is sufficiently different. Some new statistical approaches to doing this are described, and conditions quantified in which such estimates are likely to be good.

This study was conducted to determine the chromium content of different feedstuffs, their estimated requirement, and effect of dietary Cr supplementation on nutrient intake, nutrient utilization, growth performance, and mineral balance in buffalo calves during summer season. Levels of Cr was higher in cultivated fodder, moderate in cakes and cereal grains, while straw, grasses, and non-conventional feeds were poor in Cr content. To test the effect of Cr supplementation in buffalo calves, 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 ppm of inorganic Cr were fed to 24 buffalo calves. Buffalo calves were randomly assigned to four treatments (n = 6) and raised for 120 days. A metabolic trial for a period of 7 days was conducted after 3 months of dietary treatments. Blood samples were collected at fortnight interval for plasma mineral estimation. The results suggested that dietary Cr supplementation in summer did not have any affects (P > 0.05) on feed consumption, growth performance, nitrogen balance, and physiological variables. However, dietary Cr supplementation had significant effect (P < 0.05) on balance and plasma Cr (ppb) levels without affecting (P > 0.05) balance and plasma levels of other trace minerals. The estimated Cr requirement of buffalo calves during summer season was calculated to be 0.044 mg/kg body mass and 10.37 ppm per day. In conclusion, dietary Cr supplementation has regardless effect on feed consumption, mass gain, and nutrient utilization in buffalo calves reared under heat stress conditions. However, supplementation of Cr had positive effect on its balance and plasma concentration without interacting with other trace minerals. PMID:23963742

The capacity to acquire the relative position and attitude information between the chaser and the target satellites in real time is one of the necessary prerequisites for the successful implementation of autonomous rendezvous and docking. This paper addresses a vision based relative position and attitude estimation algorithm for the final phase of spacecraft rendezvous and docking. By assuming that the images of feature points on the target satellite lie within the convex regions, the estimation of the relative position and attitude is converted into solving a convex optimization problem in which the dual quaternion method is employed to represent the rotational and translational transformation between the chaser body frame and the target body frame. Due to the point-to-region correspondence instead of the point-to-point correspondence is used, the proposed estimation algorithm shows good performance in robustness which is verified through computer simulations.

Relative amount of straylight in the eye of individual observers was estimated using a psychophysical method proposed by Shinoda et al. Asymptotic illuminance of disturbing light presented in front of observer's eye to blur different sizes of the gap in the Landolt C was measured with the haze filters of which haze factors were known. From the relation between the haze factor and the asymptotic illuminance of the disturbing light for the average observer, the relative haze factor of each observer's eye was estimated. White and colored LEDs ( λ p = 645, 530, and 480 nm) were used as the disturbing lights. The four different disturbing lights showed similar tendencies among nine young observers with healthy eyes. The ability to read colored characters was also examined for six observers in the same group. A negative correlation was found between the estimation of straylight in the eye and reading performance.

A new relative orbit estimation method and practical control scheme for satellite formation keeping is developed. We present the general formation description method based on the relative orbital elements and employ the extended particle filter for the relative orbit estimation using the relative distance, elevation, and azimuth measurements. The stability of the formation configuration is analyzed in the presence of the J2 perturbation and atmospheric drag. We propose a new control scheme for formation keeping, including the triple-impulse strategy for the in-plane motion, the single-impulse maneuver for the cross-track motion, and the time-optimal aerodynamic control for the along-track separation. The full analytical fuel-optimal triple-impulse solutions are then derived, which do not cause additional along-track drift compared with the conventional dual-impulse method. Effects of the thruster errors are also analyzed. Furthermore, the time-optimal aerodynamic control law for the along-track drift is presented. Simulation results show that the relative position estimation errors are within 2×10-2 m, and that of the relative velocity estimation are within 1×10-4 m/s. Moreover, the triple-impulse strategy is simple and effective, and the along-track aerodynamic control precision is under 50 m.

Microwave radiation emitted by Earth's land surface is primarily determined by soil moisture and vegetation. One of the effects of vegetation on surface microwave emissions is often termed the "vegetation optical thickness" or "vegetation opacity" and is often abbreviated as tau. Retrievals of soil moisture from microwave radiometer measurements requires knowledge of tau. The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite measures microwave radiation at multiple incidence angles, enabling the simultaneous retrieval of soil moisture and tau. Other soil moisture satellites, such as the upcoming Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite, only measure at single incidence angles and may need auxiliary sources of tau data in order to retrieve soil moisture. One proposed method for estimating tau for these satellites is by relating reflectance data, e.g. the normalized difference vegetation index, to vegetation water content (VWC), then relating VWC to tau. VWC and tau can be related through the b parameter, i.e. tau = b x VWC. Values of b for different land cover types have been estimated from tower (~1 m) and airplane (~10-100 m) data, but have not been measured at the satellite scale (~10 km). Estimating b at the satellite scale from measurements at smaller scales is difficult because the effective value of b in a satellite pixel may not be well represented by linear weighted average based on the fraction of each land cover type in the pixel. However, by relating county crop yields, estimated by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, to measurements of SMOS tau, and by using certain allometric relationships, such as the ratio of water to dry matter and the harvest index of crops, we can estimate b at the satellite scale. We have used this method to estimate b for each Iowa county for the years 2010-2012. Initial results suggest that b may change year to year; our current estimates for b in Iowa range from 0.065 in 2010 to 0.100 in 2012. These

Quantitative estimates of growth rates can augment ecological and paleontological applications of body-size data. However, in contrast to body-size estimates, assessing growth rates is often time-consuming, expensive, or unattainable. Here we use an indirect approach, a jackknife-corrected parametric bootstrap, for efficient approximation of growth rates using nearest living relatives with known age-size relationships. The estimate is developed by (1) collecting a sample of published growth rates of closely related species, (2) calculating the average growth curve using those published age-size relationships, (3) resampling iteratively these empirically known growth curves to estimate the standard errors and confidence bands around the average growth curve, and (4) applying the resulting estimate of uncertainty to bracket age-size relationships of the species of interest. This approach was applied to three monophyletic families (Donacidae, Mactridae, and Semelidae) of mollusk bivalves, a group characterized by indeterministic shell growth, but widely used in ecological, paleontological, and geochemical research. The resulting indirect estimates were tested against two previously published geochemical studies and, in both cases, yielded highly congruent age estimates. In addition, a case study in applied fisheries was used to illustrate the potential of the proposed approach for augmenting aquaculture management practices. The resulting estimates of growth rates place body size data in a constrained temporal context and confidence intervals associated with resampling estimates allow for assessing the statistical uncertainty around derived temporal ranges. The indirect approach should allow for improved evaluation of diverse research questions, from sustainability of industrial shellfish harvesting to climatic interpretations of stable isotope proxies extracted from fossil skeletons. PMID:24071629

Four methods for measuring quantities of 12 plant-available nutrients were compared using three sandy soils in a series of three experiments. Three of the methods use different ion-exchange resin forms-bags, capsules, and membranes-and the fourth was conventional chemical extraction. The first experiment compared nutrient extraction data from a medium of sand saturated with a nutrient solution. The second and third experiments used Nakai and Sheppard series soils from Canyonlands National Park, which are relatively high in soil carbonates. The second experiment compared nutrient extraction data provided by the four methods from soils equilibrated at two temperatures, "warm" and "cold." The third experiment extracted nutrients from the same soils in a field equilibration. Our results show that the four extraction techniques are not comparable. This conclusion is due to differences among the methods in the net quantities of nutrients extracted from equivalent soil volumes, in the proportional representation of nutrients within similar soils and treatments, in the measurement of nutrients that were added in known quantities, and even in the order of nutrients ranked by net abundance. We attribute the disparities in nutrient measurement among the different resin forms to interacting effects of the inherent differences in resin exchange capacity, differences among nutrients in their resin affinities, and possibly the relatively short equilibration time for laboratory trials. One constraint for measuring carbonate-relatednutrients in high-carbonate soils is the conventional ammonium acetate extraction method, which we suspect of dissolving fine CaCO3 particles that are more abundant in Nakai series soils, resulting in erroneously high Ca2+ estimates. For study of plant-available nutrients, it is important to identify the nutrients of foremost interest and understand differences in their resin sorption dynamics to determine the most appropriate extraction method.

Participants from Argentina (N = 217) estimated their own, their partner's, their parents' and their grandparents' overall and multiple intelligences. The Argentinean data showed that men gave higher overall estimates than women (M = 110.4 vs. 105.1) as well as higher estimates on mathematical and spatial intelligence. Participants thought themselves slightly less bright than their fathers (2 IQ points) but brighter than their mothers (6 points), their grandfathers (8 points), but especially their grandmothers (11 points). Regressions showed that participants thought verbal and mathematical IQ to be the best predictors of overall IQ. Results were broadly in agreement with other studies in the area. A comparison was also made with British data using the same questionnaire. British participants tended to give significantly higher self-estimates than for relatives, though the pattern was generally similar. Results are discussed in terms of the studies in the field. PMID:15875453

In an optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan from a living tissue, red blood cells (RBCs) are the major source of backscattering signal from moving particles within microcirculatory system. Measuring the concentration and velocity of RBC particles allows assessment of RBC flux and flow, respectively, to assess tissue perfusion and oxygen/nutrition exchange rates within micro-structures. In this paper, we propose utilizing spectral estimation techniques to simultaneously quantify bi-directional particle flow and relative flux by spectral estimation of the received OCT signal from moving particles within capillary tubes embedded in tissue mimicking phantoms. The proposed method can be directly utilized for in vivo quantification of capillaries and microvessels. Compared to the existing methods in the literature that can either quantify flow direction or power, our proposed method allows simultaneous flow (velocity) direction and relative flux (power) estimation. PMID:25327449

In an optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan from a living tissue, red blood cells (RBCs) are the major source of backscattering signal from moving particles within microcirculatory system. Measuring the concentration and velocity of RBC particles allows assessment of RBC flux and flow, respectively, to assess tissue perfusion and oxygen/nutrition exchange rates within micro-structures. In this paper, we propose utilizing spectral estimation techniques to simultaneously quantify bi-directional particle flow and relative flux by spectral estimation of the received OCT signal from moving particles within capillary tubes embedded in tissue mimicking phantoms. The proposed method can be directly utilized for in vivo quantification of capillaries and microvessels. Compared to the existing methods in the literature that can either quantify flow direction or power, our proposed method allows simultaneous flow (velocity) direction and relative flux (power) estimation.

In an optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan from a living tissue, red blood cells (RBCs) are the major source of backscattering signal from moving particles within microcirculatory system. Measuring the concentration and velocity of RBC particles allows assessment of RBC flux and flow, respectively, to assess tissue perfusion and oxygen/nutrition exchange rates within micro-structures. In this paper, we propose utilizing spectral estimation techniques to simultaneously quantify bi-directional particle flow and relative flux by spectral estimation of the received OCT signal from moving particles within capillary tubes embedded in tissue mimicking phantoms. The proposed method can be directly utilized for in vivo quantification of capillaries and microvessels. Compared to the existing methods in the literature that can either quantify flow direction or power, our proposed method allows simultaneous flow (velocity) direction and relative flux (power) estimation. PMID:25327449

Background: Climate extremes will increase the frequency and severity of natural disasters worldwide. Climate-related natural disasters were anticipated to affect 375 million people in 2015, more than 50% greater than the yearly average in the previous decade. To inform surgical assistance preparedness, we estimated the number of surgical procedures needed. Methods: The numbers of people affected by climate-related disasters from 2004 to 2014 were obtained from the Centre for Research of the Epidemiology of Disasters database. Using 5,000 procedures per 100,000 persons as the minimum, baseline estimates were calculated. A linear regression of the number of surgical procedures performed annually and the estimated number of surgical procedures required for climate-related natural disasters was performed. Results: Approximately 140 million people were affected by climate-related natural disasters annually requiring 7.0 million surgical procedures. The greatest need for surgical care was in the People’s Republic of China, India, and the Philippines. Linear regression demonstrated a poor relationship between national surgical capacity and estimated need for surgical care resulting from natural disaster, but countries with the least surgical capacity will have the greatest need for surgical care for persons affected by climate-related natural disasters. Conclusion: As climate extremes increase the frequency and severity of natural disasters, millions will need surgical care beyond baseline needs. Countries with insufficient surgical capacity will have the most need for surgical care for persons affected by climate-related natural disasters. Estimates of surgical are particularly important for countries least equipped to meet surgical care demands given critical human and physical resource deficiencies. PMID:27617165

The social relations model (SRM) is a conceptual, methodological, and analytical approach that is widely used to examine dyadic behaviors and interpersonal perception within groups. This article introduces a general and flexible approach to estimating the parameters of the SRM that is based on Bayesian methods using Markov chain Monte Carlo…

This paper presents a system based on an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for estimating and predicting environmental variables related to tobacco drying processes. This system has been validated with temperature and relative humidity data obtained from a real tobacco dryer with a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). A fitting ANN was used to estimate temperature and relative humidity in different locations inside the tobacco dryer and to predict them with different time horizons. An error under 2% can be achieved when estimating temperature as a function of temperature and relative humidity in other locations. Moreover, an error around 1.5 times lower than that obtained with an interpolation method can be achieved when predicting the temperature inside the tobacco mass as a function of its present and past values with time horizons over 150 minutes. These results show that the tobacco drying process can be improved taking into account the predicted future value of the monitored variables and the estimated actual value of other variables using a fitting ANN as proposed. PMID:23202032

This paper presents a system based on an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for estimating and predicting environmental variables related to tobacco drying processes. This system has been validated with temperature and relative humidity data obtained from a real tobacco dryer with a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). A fitting ANN was used to estimate temperature and relative humidity in different locations inside the tobacco dryer and to predict them with different time horizons. An error under 2% can be achieved when estimating temperature as a function of temperature and relative humidity in other locations. Moreover, an error around 1.5 times lower than that obtained with an interpolation method can be achieved when predicting the temperature inside the tobacco mass as a function of its present and past values with time horizons over 150 minutes. These results show that the tobacco drying process can be improved taking into account the predicted future value of the monitored variables and the estimated actual value of other variables using a fitting ANN as proposed. PMID:23202032

This study presents new group contribution (GC) models for the prediction of Lower and Upper Flammability Limits (LFL and UFL), Flash Point (FP) and Auto Ignition Temperature (AIT) of organic chemicals applying the Marrero/Gani (MG) method. Advanced methods for parameter estimation using robust regression and outlier treatment have been applied to achieve high accuracy. Furthermore, linear error propagation based on covariance matrix of estimated parameters was performed. Therefore, every estimated property value of the flammability-related properties is reported together with its corresponding 95%-confidence interval of the prediction. Compared to existing models the developed ones have a higher accuracy, are simple to apply and provide uncertainty information on the calculated prediction. The average relative error and correlation coefficient are 11.5% and 0.99 for LFL, 15.9% and 0.91 for UFL, 2.0% and 0.99 for FP as well as 6.4% and 0.76 for AIT. Moreover, the temperature-dependence of LFL property was studied. A compound specific proportionality constant (K(LFL)) between LFL and temperature is introduced and an MG GC model to estimate K(LFL) is developed. Overall the ability to predict flammability-related properties including the corresponding uncertainty of the prediction can provide important information for a qualitative and quantitative safety-related risk assessment studies. PMID:27453258

The authors examined whether absolute and relative judgments about global-scale locations and distances were generated from common representations. At the end of a 10-week class on the regional geography of the United States, participants estimated the latitudes of 16 North American cities and all possible pairwise distances between them. Although…

... opportunity to participate in a voluntary consent agreement (70 FR 4958) referred to as the Air Compliance... AGENCY 40 CFR Part 60 Call for Information: Information Related to the Development of Emission-Estimating... quality-assured emissions and process data that are relevant to developing...

Exposure to traffic-related air pollutants is highest very near roads, and thus exposure estimates are sensitive to positional errors. This study evaluates positional and PM2.5 concentration errors that result from the use of automated geocoding methods and from linearized approx...

The objective of the report is: (1) to compare alternative ozone exposure indices that relate well to plant response and are useful in developing future standards for ozone; (2) to estimate standard errors and confidence intervals of regression coefficients and exposure levels of...

The simultaneous effects of grazing and nutrient enrichment on macroalgal communities were experimentally investigated using plastic mesh enclosure/exclosure cages along a natural nutrient (DIN, SRP) gradient from the discharge of a tidal mangrove creek on the west side of Nor...

Uranium (U) toxicity is known to be highly dependent on U speciation and bioavailability. To assess the impact of uranium on plants, a growth inhibition test was set up in the freshwater macrophyte Lemna minor. First growth media with different compositions were tested in order to find a medium fit for testing U toxicity in L. minor. Following arguments were used for medium selection: the ability to sustain L. minor growth, a high solubility of U in the medium and a high percentage of the more toxic U-species namely UO2(2+). Based on these selection criteria a with a low phosphate concentration of 0.5 mg L(-1) and supplemented with 5 mM MES (2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid) to ensure pH stability was chosen. This medium also showed highest U toxicity compared to the other tested media. Subsequently a full dose response curve for U was established by exposing L. minor plants to U concentrations ranging from 0.05 μM up to 150 μM for 7 days. Uranium was shown to adversely affect growth of L. minor in a dose dependent manner with EC10, EC30 and EC50 values ranging between 1.6 and 4.8 μM, 7.7-16.4 μM and 19.4-37.2 μM U, respectively, depending on the growth endpoint. Four different growth related endpoints were tested: frond area, frond number, fresh weight and dry weight. Although differences in relative growth rates and associated ECx-values calculated on different endpoints are small (maximal twofold difference), frond area is recommended to be used to measure U-induced growth effects as it is a sensitive growth endpoint and easy to measure in vivo allowing for measurements over time. PMID:26187266

The seasonal values for nutrients (nitrate, TKN, TN, and TP) and algal biomass (periphyton CHLa, AFDM, seston CHLa, and POC) were compared to published U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) values for their respective ecoregions. Algal biomass values either were greater than the 25th percentile published USEPA values or extended the range of data in Aggregate Nutrient Ecoregions VI, VII, IX and USEPA Level III Ecoregions 54, 55, 56, 71, and 72. If the values for the 25th percentile proposed by the USEPA were adopted as nutrient water-quality criteria, then about 71 percent of the nutrient samples and 57 percent of the CHLa samples within the eight study basins would be considered nutrient enriched.

Until recently, the study of nutrient patterns was hampered at an international level by a lack of standardization of both dietary methods and nutrient databases. We aimed to describe the diversity of nutrient patterns in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study at population level as a starting point for future nutrient pattern analyses and their associations with chronic diseases in multi-center studies. In this cross-sectional study, 36,034 persons aged 35-74 y were administered a single, standardized 24-h dietary recall. Intake of 25 nutrients (excluding intake from dietary supplements) was estimated using a standardized nutrient database. We used a graphic presentation of mean nutrient intakes by region and sex relative to the overall EPIC means to contrast patterns within and between 10 European countries. In Mediterranean regions, including Greece, Italy, and the southern centers of Spain, the nutrient pattern was dominated by relatively high intakes of vitamin E and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), whereas intakes of retinol and vitamin D were relatively low. In contrast, in Nordic countries, including Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, reported intake of these same nutrients resulted in almost the opposite pattern. Population groups in Germany, The Netherlands, and the UK shared a fatty acid pattern of relatively high intakes of PUFA and SFA and relatively low intakes of MUFA, in combination with a relatively high intake of sugar. We confirmed large variability in nutrient intakes across the EPIC study populations and identified 3 main region-specific patterns with a geographical gradient within and between European countries. PMID:20484545

A model has been developed in order to estimate insurance-related losses caused by coastal flooding in France. The deterministic part of the model aims at identifying the potentially flood-impacted sectors and the subsequent insured losses a few days after the occurrence of a storm surge event on any part of the French coast. This deterministic component is a combination of three models: a hazard model, a vulnerability model and a damage model. The first model uses the PREVIMER system to estimate the water level along the coast. A storage-cell flood model propagates these water levels over the land and thus determines the probable inundated areas. The vulnerability model, for its part, is derived from the insurance schedules and claims database; combining information such as risk type, class of business and insured values. The outcome of the vulnerability and hazard models are then combined with the damage model to estimate the event damage and potential insured losses. This system shows satisfactory results in the estimation of the magnitude of the known losses related to the flood caused by the Xynthia storm. However, it also appears very sensitive to the water height estimated during the flood period, conditioned by the junction between sea water levels and coastal topography for which the accuracy is still limited in the system.

A model has been developed in order to estimate insurance-related losses caused by coastal flooding in France. The deterministic part of the model aims at identifying the potentially flood-impacted sectors and the subsequent insured losses a few days after the occurrence of a storm surge event on any part of the French coast. This deterministic component is a combination of three models: a hazard model, a vulnerability model, and a damage model. The first model uses the PREVIMER system to estimate the water level resulting from the simultaneous occurrence of a high tide and a surge caused by a meteorological event along the coast. A storage-cell flood model propagates these water levels over the land and thus determines the probable inundated areas. The vulnerability model, for its part, is derived from the insurance schedules and claims database, combining information such as risk type, class of business, and insured values. The outcome of the vulnerability and hazard models are then combined with the damage model to estimate the event damage and potential insured losses. This system shows satisfactory results in the estimation of the magnitude of the known losses related to the flood caused by the Xynthia storm. However, it also appears very sensitive to the water height estimated during the flood period, conditioned by the junction between seawater levels and coastal topography, the accuracy for which is still limited by the amount of information in the system.

Nonlinear kernel partial least squaes (KPLS) regressior, is a novel smoothing approach to nonparametric regression curve fitting. We have developed a KPLS approach to the estimation of single-trial event related potentials (ERPs). For improved accuracy of estimation, we also developed a local KPLS method for situations in which there exists prior knowledge about the approximate latency of individual ERP components. To assess the utility of the KPLS approach, we compared non-local KPLS and local KPLS smoothing with other nonparametric signal processing and smoothing methods. In particular, we examined wavelet denoising, smoothing splines, and localized smoothing splines. We applied these methods to the estimation of simulated mixtures of human ERPs and ongoing electroencephalogram (EEG) activity using a dipole simulator (BESA). In this scenario we considered ongoing EEG to represent spatially and temporally correlated noise added to the ERPs. This simulation provided a reasonable but simplified model of real-world ERP measurements. For estimation of the simulated single-trial ERPs, local KPLS provided a level of accuracy that was comparable with or better than the other methods. We also applied the local KPLS method to the estimation of human ERPs recorded in an experiment on co,onitive fatigue. For these data, the local KPLS method provided a clear improvement in visualization of single-trial ERPs as well as their averages. The local KPLS method may serve as a new alternative to the estimation of single-trial ERPs and improvement of ERP averages.

Perturbation analyses have been applied in recent years to determine the relative contribution of individual stimulus components in detection and discrimination tasks. Responses to stimulus samples are compared to stimulus parameters to determine the details of the decision rule. Often, a linear model is assumed and it is of interest to determine the relative contribution of different stimulus elements to the decision. Here, biases in estimatedrelative weights are considered for the case where the decision variable is given by D=(∑(αiXin)k)m and the stimulus components, the Xi, are normally distributed, of equal variance, and mutually independent. The αi are the ``true'' combination weights, and n, k, and m are positive reals. The method used to estimaterelative weights is the correlation coefficient between the Xi and the observer's responses. Estimates of relative αi do not depend on m but may depend on the mean values of the Xi and the values of n and k (a dependence on the variance, σi2, holds even for linear transformations).

Two different goals in fitting straight lines to data are to estimate a "true" linear relation (physical law) and to predict values of the dependent variable with the smallest possible error. Regarding the first goal, a Monte Carlo study indicated that the structural-analysis (SA) method of fitting straight lines to data is superior to the ordinary least-squares (OLS) method for estimating "true" straight-line relations. Number of data points, slope and intercept of the true relation, and variances of the errors associated with the independent (X) and dependent (Y) variables influence the degree of agreement. For example, differences between the two line-fitting methods decrease as error in X becomes small relative to error in Y. Regarding the second goal-predicting the dependent variable-OLS is better than SA. Again, the difference diminishes as X takes on less error relative to Y. With respect to estimation of slope and intercept and prediction of Y, agreement between Monte Carlo results and large-sample theory was very good for sample sizes of 100, and fair to good for sample sizes of 20. The procedures and error measures are illustrated with two geologic examples. ?? 1990 International Association for Mathematical Geology.

Two rating scale techniques employing an absolute magnitude estimation method, were compared to a relative judgment method for assessing subjective workload. One of the absolute estimation techniques used was an unidimensional overall workload scale and the other was the multidimensional NASA-Task Load Index technique. Thomas Saaty's Analytic Hierarchy Process was the unidimensional relative judgment method used. These techniques were used to assess the subjective workload of various single- and dual-tracking conditions. The validity of the techniques was defined as their ability to detect the same phenomena observed in the tracking performance. Reliability was assessed by calculating test-retest correlations. Within the context of the experiment, the Saaty Analytic Hierarchy Process was found to be superior in validity and reliability. These findings suggest that the relative judgment method would be an effective addition to the currently available subjective workload assessment techniques.

The Raven ISS Hosted Payload will feature several pose measurement sensors on a pan/tilt gimbal which will be used to autonomously track resupply vehicles as they approach and depart the International Space Station. This paper discusses the derivation of a Relative Navigation Filter (RNF) to fuse measurements from the different pose measurement sensors to produce relative position and attitude estimates. The RNF relies on relative translation and orientation kinematics and careful pose sensor modeling to eliminate dependence on orbital position information and associated orbital dynamics models. The filter state is augmented with sensor biases to provide a mechanism for the filter to estimate and mitigate the offset between the measurements from different pose sensors.

The Raven ISS Hosted Payload will feature several pose measurement sensors on a pan/tilt gimbal which will be used to autonomously track resupply vehicles as they approach and depart the International Space Station. This paper discusses the derivation of a Relative Navigation Filter (RNF) to fuse measurements from the different pose measurement sensors to produce relative position and attitude estimates. The RNF relies on relative translation and orientation kinematics and careful pose sensor modeling to eliminate dependence on orbital position information and associated orbital dynamics models. The filter state is augmented with sensor biases to provide a mechanism for the filter to estimate and mitigate the offset between the measurements from different pose sensors

High and low flows and associated floods and droughts are natural phenomena caused by opposite meteorological extremes, affected by various, but similar catchment processes. Knowledge of peak flow and low flow discharges is fundamental in all water-related studies and infrastructures design. They are estimated starting from measurements of river discharges at stream gauging stations. The lack of observations at the site of interest as well as the inaccuracy of the measurements, however, bring inevitably to the necessity of developing predictive models. Regional analysis is the classical approach to estimate river flow characteristics at sites where little or no data exists. Once the homogeneous regions are defined, specific interpolation techniques are needed to regionalize the hydrological variables. Particularly, two different techniques are chosen here for estimating streamflow-related variables: the top-kriging and the multivariate analysis. Top-kriging is chosen because it is directly connected to the hydrographic network structure and geometric organization, while the Multivariate analysis, based on natural logarithms of seven geomorphoclimatic characteristics, is able to take into account the catchment properties. These methods are applied over the geographical space of Tuscany Region, in Central Italy. The results are validated using a cross-validation procedure, and are compared even with classical interpolation approaches (e.g. the ordinary kriging). With the aim to define the most suitable procedure for streamflow extremes estimation, the results are compared through different error measurement methods (mean square error, mean relative error, etc.).

Soils at the crests of moraines are commonly used to estimate the relative ages of moraines. However, for various pedologic and geomorphic reasons, soil development at crest sites may not truly reflect the time since moraine formation; for example, some crest soils on moraines of greatly different age are similar in morphology and development. Soil catena data for soils at several sites aligned downslope from the crest can greatly improve on the usefulness of soil data for estimating moraine ages. For this purpose, the authors use the weighted mean catena profile development index, which condenses field data for all of the soils in each catena into a single value.

The Advanced LIGO observatories have successfully completed their first observation run. Data were collected from September 2015 to January 2016, with a sensitivity a few times better than initial instruments in the hundreds of Hertz band. Bayesian parameter estimation and model selection algorithms can be used to estimate the astrophysical parameters of gravitational-wave sources, as well as to perform tests of General Relativity in its strong-field dynamical regime. In this talk we will describe the methods devised to characterize transient gravitational wave sources and their applications in the advanced gravitational-wave detector era.

A water quality model, LM3 Eutro, will be used to estimate the response of nutrient concentrations and primary productivity in Lake Michigan to nutrient loading scenarios. This work is part of a larger effort, the Future Midwestern landscapes study, that will estimate the produc...

In this experiment, different microorganisms viz., Trichoderma viridae, Aspergillus niger and Bacillus megaterium were inoculated in bagasse and coir with the objective to study their effect on nutrient dynamics and microbial properties, specially effect on fungal status in these waste materials. Fungal biomass (FBC) was calculated from the ergosterol content in the vermicompost samples. Inoculation of B. megaterium registered comparatively higher TP content in the final stabilized product. Vermicomposting increased microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) content in bagasse and coir. Microbial biomass carbon to nitrogen ratio (MBC/ MBN) was comparatively narrower in fungi inoculated vermicomposts and FBC/MBC ratio was increased up to 11.69 from 9.51 of control during vermicomposting. PMID:20061132

The Number Line (NL) task requires judging the relative numerical magnitude of a number and estimating its value spatially on a continuous line. Children's skill on this task has been shown to correlate with and predict future mathematical competence. Neurofunctionally, this task has been shown to rely on brain regions involved in numerical processing. However, there is no direct evidence that performance on the NL task is related to brain areas recruited during arithmetical processing and that these areas are domain-specific to numerical processing. In this study, we test whether 8- to 14-year-old's behavioral performance on the NL task is related to fMRI activation during small and large single-digit subtraction problems. Domain-specific areas for numerical processing were independently localized through a numerosity judgment task. Results show a direct relation between NL estimation performance and the amount of the activation in key areas for arithmetical processing. Better NL estimators showed a larger problem size effect than poorer NL estimators in numerical magnitude (i.e., intraparietal sulcus) and visuospatial areas (i.e., posterior superior parietal lobules), marked by less activation for small problems. In addition, the direction of the activation with problem size within the IPS was associated with differences in accuracies for small subtraction problems. This study is the first to show that performance in the NL task, i.e. estimating the spatial position of a number on an interval, correlates with brain activity observed during single-digit subtraction problem in regions thought to be involved in numerical magnitude and spatial processes. PMID:25497398

Nutrient limitation of primary producers and their consumers can have a large influence on ecosystem productivity. The nature and strength of nutrient limitation is driven both by external factors (nutrient loading) and internal processes (consumer-driven nutrient regeneration). Here we present results from a field study in 16 unproductive headwater lakes in northern subarctic and boreal Sweden where N deposition is low. We assessed the C:N:P stoichiometry of lake water, seston and zooplankton and estimated the consumer driven nutrient regeneration N:P ratio. The elemental imbalances between seston and zooplankton indicated that zooplankton were mainly N limited and regenerated nutrients with low N:P ratios (median 9.7, atomic ratio). The N:P regeneration ratios declined with increasing DOC concentrations, suggesting that catchment release of DOC accentuates the N limitation by providing more P to the lakes. The N:P regeneration ratios were related to responses in phytoplankton bioassays in mid-summer with low N:P regeneration with N limited phytoplankton, and high N:P regeneration with P limited phytoplankton. During other seasons, increased nutrient loading from the surrounding catchments during periods of greater water throughput had stronger effects on phytoplankton nutrient limitation. Our results suggest that herbivore zooplankton are N limited and recycle nutrients with low N:P ratio in low productive lakes with low N deposition. This will, at least during seasons when in-lake processes play an important role in nutrient turn over, contribute to continued N limitation of phytoplankton in these systems. We anticipate that increased N deposition and changes in climate and hydrology may affect this feedback and result in qualitative changes in these ecosystems, changing both autotroph producers and herbivore consumers from N- to P-limitation, eventually affecting important ecosystem characteristics such as productivity and turnover of energy and nutrients.

The expansion of agriculture to rugged mountains can exacerbate negative impacts of agriculture activities on ecosystem function. In this study, we monitored streamwater chemistry of four watersheds with varying proportions of agricultural lands (0.4, 3, 17, 22%) and rainfall chemistry of two of the four watersheds at Feitsui Reservoir Watershed in northern Taiwan to examine the effects of agriculture on watershed nutrient cycling. We found that the greater the proportions of agricultural lands, the higher the ion concentrations, which is evident for fertilizer-associated ions (NO3-, K+) but not for ions that are rich in soils (SO42-, Ca2+, Mg2+), suggesting that agriculture enriched fertilizer-associated nutrients in streamwater. The watershed with the highest proportion of agricultural lands had higher concentrations of ions in rainfall and lower nutrient retention capacity (i.e. higher output-input ratio of ions) compared to the relatively pristine watershed, suggesting that agriculture can influence atmospheric deposition of nutrients and a system's ability to retain nutrients. Furthermore, we found that a forested watershed downstream of agricultural activities can dilute the concentrations of fertilizer-associated ions (NO3-, K+) in streamwater by more than 70%, indicating that specific landscape configurations help mitigate nutrient enrichment to aquatic systems. We estimated that agricultural lands at our study site contributed approximately 400 kg ha-1 yr-1 of NO3-N and 260 kg ha-1 yr-1 of PO4-P output via streamwater, an order of magnitude greater than previously reported around the globe and can only be matched by areas under intense fertilizer use. Furthermore, we re-constructed watershed nutrient fluxes to show that excessive leaching of N and P, and additional loss of N to the atmosphere via volatilization and denitrification, can occur under intense fertilizer use. In summary, this study demonstrated the pervasive impacts of agriculture activities

Observational studies of thunderstorm cloud height-rainfall rate and cloud height-volume rainfall rate relations are reviewed with significant variations being noted among climatological regimes. Analysis of the Florida (summer) and Oklahoma (spring) relations are made using a one-dimensional cloud model to ascertain the important factors in determining the individual cloud-rain relations and the differences between the two regimes. In general, the observed relations are well simulated by the model-based calculations. The generally lower predicted rain rates in Oklahoma (as compared to Florida) result from lower precipitation efficiencies which are due to a combination of larger entrainment (related to larger vertical wind shear) and drier environment. The generally steeper slope of the Oklahoma rain rate height curves is shown to be due to a stronger variation in maximum vertical velocity with cloud top height, which, in turn, is related to the greater static stability in the range of cloud tops. The impact of the regime-to-regime variations on empirical rain estimation schemes based on satellite-observed cloud height or cloud temperature information is discussed and a rain estimation approach based on model-generated cloud-rain relations is outlined.

Purpose. To examine prevalence of five age-related eye conditions (age-related cataract, AMD, open-angle glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy [DR], and visual impairment) in the United States. Methods. Review of published scientific articles and unpublished research findings. Results. Cataract, AMD, open-angle glaucoma, DR, and visual impairment prevalences are high in four different studies of these conditions, especially in people over 75 years of age. There are disparities among racial/ethnic groups with higher age-specific prevalence of DR, open-angle glaucoma, and visual impairment in Hispanics and blacks compared with whites, higher prevalence of age-related cataract in whites compared with blacks, and higher prevalence of late AMD in whites compared with Hispanics and blacks. The estimates are based on old data and do not reflect recent changes in the distribution of age and race/ethnicity in the United States population. There are no epidemiologic estimates of prevalence for many visually-impairing conditions. Conclusions. Ongoing prevalence surveys designed to provide reliable estimates of visual impairment, AMD, age-related cataract, open-angle glaucoma, and DR are needed. It is important to collect objective data on these and other conditions that affect vision and quality of life in order to plan for health care needs and identify areas for further research. PMID:24335069

Vegetables are the major source of the dietary fiber, magnesium, potassium, and vitamins A and C that are crucial in the diets of children. This study assessed the nutrient content of vegetables offered through the National School Lunch Program and examined the relation between the overall nutrient density of vegetable subgroups and the costs of nutrients offered and wasted before and after the changes in school meal standards. Using data collected from 3 elementary schools before and after the changes in school meal standards, we found that vegetable plate waste increased from 52% to 58%. Plate waste for starchy vegetables, exclusive of potatoes, was relatively high compared with other subgroups; however, plate waste for white potatoes was the lowest among any type of vegetable. Energy density; cost per 100 g, per serving, and per 100 kcal; and percentage daily value were calculated and used to estimatenutrient density value and nutrient density per dollar. Cost per 100 kcal was highest for red/orange vegetables followed by dark green vegetables; however, nutrient density for red/orange vegetables was the highest in the group and provided the most nutrients per dollar compared with other subgroups. Given that many vegetables are less energy dense, measuring vegetable costs per 100 g and per serving by accounting for nutrient density perhaps is a better way of calculating the cost of vegetables in school meals. PMID:26773034

Chlorella sorokiniana can sustain growth in conditions hostile to other species, and possesses good nutrient removal and lipid accumulation potentials. However, the effects of variable nutrient levels (N and P) in wastewaters on growth, productivity, and nutrient uptake by C. sorokiniana have not been studied in detail. This study demonstrates the ability of this alga to sustain uniform growth and productivity, while regulating the relativenutrient uptake in accordance to their availability in the bulk medium. These results highlight the potential of C. sorokiniana as a suitable candidate for fulfilling the coupled objectives of nutrient removal and biomass production for bio-fuel with wastewaters having great variability in nutrient levels. PMID:25463782

The study is an assessment of the susceptibility and status of 17 Northeast estuaries to nutrient-related pollution problems. It is the final version of one of seven chapters in the Case Study and one of two chapters that will be completed. It first presents background information on the problems of nutrient overenrichment in estuaries followed by a screening analysis of the susceptibility and status of estuaries to nutrient discharges and sections on nutrient sources and discharge estimation methods. The final section is an overview of the region based on simple comparisons of discharge estimates across estuaries in the region. Appendix A contains one-page summaries for each estuary that include information on significant physical and hydrologic features, susceptibility and pollutant status, nutrient discharge estimates, and a narrative to assist the reader interpret the data. Summary estimates of particular interest are the changes in nitrogen and phosphorus inputs that would significantly alter the pollutant status of each estuary. Four additional appendices contain more detailed breakdowns of nutrient discharges by season and by source, an evaluation of the quality of the discharge estimates, and the method for determining an estuary's nutrient concentration status and susceptibility to nutrient-related pollution problems.

We estimate the population genetics parameter FST (also referred to as the fixation index) from short tandem repeat (STR) allele frequencies, comparing many worldwide human subpopulations at approximately the national level with continental-scale populations. FST is commonly used to measure population differentiation, and is important in forensic DNA analysis to account for remote shared ancestry between a suspect and an alternative source of the DNA. We estimate FST comparing subpopulations with a hypothetical ancestral population, which is the approach most widely used in population genetics, and also compare a subpopulation with a sampled reference population, which is more appropriate for forensic applications. Both estimation methods are likelihood-based, in which FST is related to the variance of the multinomial-Dirichlet distribution for allele counts. Overall, we find low FST values, with posterior 97.5 percentiles < 3% when comparing a subpopulation with the most appropriate population, and even for inter-population comparisons we find FST < 5%. These are much smaller than single nucleotide polymorphism-based inter-continental FST estimates, and are also about half the magnitude of STR-based estimates from population genetics surveys that focus on distinct ethnic groups rather than a general population. Our findings support the use of FST up to 3% in forensic calculations, which corresponds to some current practice. PMID:26460400

Continuous electrocardiogram, blood pressure and carotid artery ultrasound video were analyzed from 15 diabetics and 28 healthy controls. By using these measurements artery elasticity, overall baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) assessed between RR and systolic blood pressure variation, and neural BRS assessed between RR and artery diameter variation were estimated. In addition, BRS was estimated using traditional and causal methods which enable separation of feedforward and feedback variation. The aim of this study was to analyze overall and neural BRS in relation to artery stiffness and to validate the causal BRS estimation method in assessing these two types of BRS within the study population. The most significant difference between the healthy and diabetic groups (p < 0.0007) was found for the overall BRS estimated using the causal method. The difference between the groups was also significant for neural BRS (p < 0.0018). However neural BRS was normal in some old diabetics, which indicates normal functioning of autonomic nervous system (ANS), even though the elasticity in arteries of these subjects was reduced. The noncausal method overestimated neural BRS in low BRS values when compared to causal BRS. In conclusion, neural BRS estimated using the causal method is proposed as the best marker of ANS functioning. PMID:24168896

Background Clonal propagation is a particular reproductive system found in both the plant and animal kingdoms, from human parasites to clonally propagated crops. Clonal diversity provides information about plant and animal evolutionary history, i.e. how clones spread, or the age of a particular clone. In plants, this could provide valuable information about agrobiodiversity dynamics and more broadly about the evolutionary history of a particular crop. We studied the evolutionary history of yam, Dioscorea rotundata. In Africa, Yam is cultivated by tuber clonal propagation. Results We used 12 microsatellite markers to identify intra-clonal diversity in yam varieties. We then used this diversity to assess the relative ages of clones. Using simulations, we assessed how Approximate Bayesian Computation could use clonal diversity to estimate the age of a clone depending on the size of the sample, the number of independent samples and the number of markers. We then applied this approach to our particular dataset and showed that the relative ages of varieties could be estimated, and that each variety could be ranked by age. Conclusions We give a first estimation of clone age in an approximate Bayesian framework. However the precise estimation of clone age depends on the precision of the mutation rate. We provide useful information on agrobiodiversity dynamics and suggest recurrent creation of varietal diversity in a clonally propagated crop. PMID:24219837

A method of estimating the relative clocks between two spaceborne global positioning system (GPS) receivers based on the single-difference (SD) observations is investigated in this paper. Especially, the advantages of introducing a double-difference (DD) solution constraint, including the orbits and ambiguities, are discussed with the simulated data and the real data of Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites. The theoretical accuracy analysis shows that the accuracy of the relative clocks is improved and the edge effects are eliminated with a DD solution constraint. The simulations indicate a potential accuracy improvement of at least 30% of the relative clocks with the constraint. Furthermore, one month's real data is processed and the overlapping data arcs are used to validate the accuracy of the relative clock solutions. The average overlapping root mean square (RMS) of the relative clock solutions is approximate 99 ps and 31 ps without and with the DD solution constraint, respectively. Moreover, the jumps of the day boundaries are weakened evidently by adding the DD solution constraint. This paper demonstrates that the accuracy and stability of the estimatedrelative clocks between two low earth orbit (LEO) satellites from SD observations are improved obviously with the DD solution constraint.

Rapid and reliable methods for estimating the relative contribution of interrill and rill erosion during a rainfall event are needed to provide an improved understanding of soil erosion processes and to develop process-based soil erosion prediction models. Use of the radionuclide 7Be in controlled experiments provides a means of addressing this need and this paper reports an experimental study aimed at refining and testing procedures employed to estimate the relative contribution of the two components of erosion. Four experimental plots (area 5 × 2 m and 10°, 15°, 20°, and 25° slope), filled with a loessial soil, manually tilled, and kept free of weeds with herbicides, were subjected to high intensity rainfall (91.8-120.6 mm h- 1), in order to induce rill development. The evolution of the rill network was documented photographically during the rainfall events and the runoff and sediment output from the plots were collected and measured. The sediment was recovered from the runoff and its mass and 7Be activity were measured. The Yang model, reported previously, was used to estimate the relative contributions of interrill and rill erosion from the 7Be activity of the exported sediment and this model was further refined to take account of the dynamic growth of the rills during the rainfall event. The results from the experiments were also used to develop a simple empirical linear model for estimating the relative contributions of interrill and rill erosion from the 7Be measurements. A comparison of the results provided by the three models showed some differences in the estimates of the magnitude of the relative contributions, although their trend during the event was similar. The estimates provided by the empirical linear model tended to be higher than those obtained using the refined model and lower than those generated by the Yang model, but were closer to those provided by the refined model which was seen as being theoretically the most accurate model. The

The toxicity of 76 priority pollutants to lettuce (Lactuca sativa) was determined in soil and in nutrient solution. In the first case a static and in the latter a semistatic exposure was established. Volatile and easily degradable compounds had high EC50 values in soil. In nutrient solution, however, several of these compounds were rather toxic. Quantitative structure activity relationships (QSARs) relating EC50 values to log K[sub ow] could be described for the toxicity in nutrient solution. Generally, the toxicity of the compounds increased with increasing lipophilicity. Deviations were caused by reactivity (N-containing compounds, double bonds in compounds), low lipophilicity, and EC50 values close to solubility. To relate toxicity in soil and nutrient solution, soil EC50 values were recalculated to values in the soil pore water using calculated adsorption coefficients. Estimated pore-water EC50 values showed a good correlation with values determined in nutrient solution but were not equal to these values. The differences can be attributed to differences in exposure.

This report presents techniques for estimating peak-flow frequency relations for North Dakota streams. In addition, a generalized skew coefficient analysis was completed for North Dakota to test the validity of using the generalized skew coefficient map in Bulletin 17B of the Hydrology Subcommittee of the Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data, 1982, 'Guidelines for Determining Flood Flow Frequency.' The analysis indicates that the generalized skew coefficient map in Bulletin 17B provides accurate estimates of generalized skew coefficient values for natural-flow streams in North Dakota. Peak-flow records through 1988 for 192 continuous- and partial-record streamflow gaging stations that had 10 or more years of record were used in a generalized least-squares regression analysis that relates peak flows for selected recurrence intervals to selected basin characteristics. Peak-flow equations were developed for recurrence intervals of 2, 10, 15, 25, 50, 100, and 500 years for three hydrologic regions in North Dakota. The peak-flow equations are applicable to natural-flow streams that have drainage areas of less than or equal to 1,000 square miles. The standard error of estimate for the three hydrologic regions ranges from 60 to 70 percent for the 100-year peak-flow equations. Methods are presented for transferring peak-flow data from gaging stations to ungaged sites on the same stream and for determining peak flows for ungaged sites on ungaged streams. Peak-flow relations, weighted estimates of peak flow, and selected basin characteristics are tabulated for the 192 gaging stations used in the generalized skew coefficient and regression analyses. Peak-flow relations also are provided for 63 additional gaging stations that were not used in the generalized skew coefficient and regression analyses. These 63 gaging stations generally represent streams that are significantly controlled by regulation and those that have drainage areas greater than 1,000 square miles.

The determination of intravascular pressure fields is important to the characterization of cardiovascular pathology. We present a two-stage method that solves the inverse problem of estimating the relative pressure field from noisy velocity fields measured by phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC-MRI) on an irregular domain with limited spatial resolution, and includes a filter for the experimental noise. For the pressure calculation, the Poisson pressure equation is solved by embedding the irregular flow domain into a regular domain. To lessen the propagation of the noise inherent to the velocity measurements, three filters - a median filter and two physics-based filters - are evaluated using a 2-D Couette flow. The two physics-based filters outperform the median filter for the estimation of the relative pressure field for realistic signal-to-noise ratios (SNR = 5 to 30). The most accurate pressure field results from a filter that applies in a least-squares sense three constraints simultaneously: consistency between measured and filtered velocity fields, divergence-free and additional smoothness conditions. This filter leads to a 5-fold gain in accuracy for the estimatedrelative pressure field compared to without noise filtering, in conditions consistent with PC-MRI of the carotid artery: SNR = 5, 20 x 20 discretized flow domain (25 X 25 computational domain).

Protein-RNA complexes are increasingly important in our understanding of cell signaling, metabolism, and transcription. Electrostatic interactions play dominant role in stabilizing such complexes. Using conventional computational approaches, very long simulations of both bound and unbound states are required to obtain accurate estimates of complex dissociation constants (Kd). Here, we derive a simple formula that offers an alternative approach based on the theory of fluctuations. Our method extracts a strong correlate to experimental Kd values using short molecular dynamics simulations of the bound complex only. To test our method, we compared the computed relative Kd values to our experimentally measured values for the U1A-Stem Loop 2 (SL2) RNA complex, which is one of the most-studied protein-RNA complexes. Additionally we also included several experimental values from the literature, to enlarge the data set. We obtain a correlation of r = 0.93 between theoretical and measured estimates of Kd values of the mutated U1A protein-RNA complexes relative to the wild type dissociation constant. The proposed method increases the efficiency of relative Kd values estimation for multiple protein mutants, allowing its applicability to protein engineering projects. PMID:27529183

To determine the optimum light intensity per cell required for rapid growth regardless of cell density, continuous cultures of the microalga Chlorella zofingiensis were grown with a sufficient supply of nutrients and CO2 and were subjected to different light intensities in the range of 75-1000 μE m(-2) s(-1). The cell density of culture increased over time for all light conditions except for the early stage of the high light condition of 1000 μE m(-2) s(-1). The light intensity per cell required for the high specific growth rate of 0.5 day(-1) was determined to be 28-45 μE g-ds(-1) s(-1). The specific growth rate was significantly correlated to light intensity (y=0.721×x/(66.98+x), r(2)=0.85, p<0.05). A high specific growth rate was maintained over a range of light intensities (250-1000 μE m(-2) s(-1)). This range of light intensities suggested that effective production of C. zofingiensis can be maintained outdoors under strong light by using the optimum specific light intensity. PMID:24747382

Accurate data about nutrient concentrations in wastewater treatment plant effluents are needed for river basin water-quality studies. As part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program in the South Platte River Basin, nutrient data were requested from 31 wastewater-treatment plants located in the basin. This article describes the types of nutrient data available from the plants, examines the variability of effluent nutrient concentrations, and discusses methods for estimation of nutrient concentrations where data are lacking. Ammonia was monitored at 88 percent of the plants, nitrite plus nitrate was monitored at 40 percent of the plants, and organic nitrogen and phosphorus were monitored at less than 25 percent of the plants. Median total nitrogen concentrations and median total phosphorus concentrations were small compared to typical literature estimates for wastewater-treatment plants with secondary treatment. Nutrient concentrations in effluent from wastewater-treatment plants varied widely between and within plants. For example, ammonia concentrations varied as much as 5 mg/L during a day, as much as 10 mg/L from day to day, and as much as 30 mg/L from summer to winter within a plant. In the South Platte River Basin, estimates of median annual ammonia and nitrite plus nitrate concentrations can be improved based on plant processes; and nitrite plus nitrate and organic nitrogen concentrations can be estimated based on ammonia concentrations. However, to avoid large estimation errors, mere complete nutrient data from wastewater-treatment plants are needed for integration into river basin water quality studies. The paucity of data hinders attempts to evaluate the relative importance of point source and nonpoint source nutrient loadings to rivers.

To better understand the evolutionary history of a group of organisms, an accurate estimate of the species phylogeny must be known. Traditionally, gene trees have served as a proxy for the species tree, although it was acknowledged early on that these trees represented different evolutionary processes. Discordances among gene trees and between the gene trees and the species tree are also expected in closely related species that have rapidly diverged, due to processes such as the incomplete sorting of ancestral polymorphisms. Recently, methods have been developed for the explicit estimation of species trees, using information from multilocus gene trees while accommodating heterogeneity among them. Here we have used three distinct approaches to estimate the species tree for five Phytophthora pathogens, including P. infestans, the causal agent of late blight disease in potato and tomato. Our concatenation-based “supergene” approach was unable to resolve relationships even with data from both the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, and from multiple isolates per species. Our multispecies coalescent approach using both Bayesian and maximum likelihood methods was able to estimate a moderately supported species tree showing a close relationship among P. infestans, P. andina, and P. ipomoeae. The topology of the species tree was also identical to the dominant phylogenetic history estimated in our third approach, Bayesian concordance analysis. Our results support previous suggestions that P. andina is a hybrid species, with P. infestans representing one parental lineage. The other parental lineage is not known, but represents an independent evolutionary lineage more closely related to P. ipomoeae. While all five species likely originated in the New World, further study is needed to determine when and under what conditions this hybridization event may have occurred. PMID:22615869

The pyrolysis of pure anthracene at temperatures between 1,200 and 1,500 K produced all six bianthryl isomers whose relative yields appear to be related to steric factors. To evaluate the hypothesis that thermodynamic factors govern the product distribution of bianthryls in this system, the relative enthalpies and entropies of biaryl isomers were estimated by molecular orbital modeling, using the semiempirical AM1 (Austin Model 1). Computational analysis of several isomer sets demonstrates that the relative stabilities of a large number of biaryl isomers are determined largely by steric interactions caused by structural features defined as bays, coves, and fjords. These steric factors affect both the degree of biaryl twist in the preferred conformation and the freedom of internal rotation. Molecular orbital modeling supports the hypothesis that a thermodynamic distribution of bianthryl isomers is produced by anthracene pyrolysis.

Consumption of nutrient rich foods such as beans and peas is recommended because these foods provide key nutrients and relatively little energy. Many consumers are unfamiliar with dried beans or do not have the time to prepare them. The purpose of this study was to compare nutrient density and nutri...

Exposure to traffic-related air pollutants is highest very near roads, and thus exposure estimates are sensitive to positional errors. This study evaluates positional and PM2.5 concentration errors that result from the use of automated geocoding methods and from linearized approximations of roads in link-based emission inventories. Two automated geocoders (Bing Map and ArcGIS) along with handheld GPS instruments were used to geocode 160 home locations of children enrolled in an air pollution study investigating effects of traffic-related pollutants in Detroit, Michigan. The average and maximum positional errors using the automated geocoders were 35 and 196 m, respectively. Comparing road edge and road centerline, differences in house-to-highway distances averaged 23 m and reached 82 m. These differences were attributable to road curvature, road width and the presence of ramps, factors that should be considered in proximity measures used either directly as an exposure metric or as inputs to dispersion or other models. Effects of positional errors for the 160 homes on PM2.5 concentrations resulting from traffic-related emissions were predicted using a detailed road network and the RLINE dispersion model. Concentration errors averaged only 9%, but maximum errors reached 54% for annual averages and 87% for maximum 24-h averages. Whereas most geocoding errors appear modest in magnitude, 5% to 20% of residences are expected to have positional errors exceeding 100 m. Such errors can substantially alter exposure estimates near roads because of the dramatic spatial gradients of traffic-related pollutant concentrations. To ensure the accuracy of exposure estimates for traffic-related air pollutants, especially near roads, confirmation of geocoordinates is recommended. PMID:25670023

Exposure to traffic-related air pollutants is highest very near roads, and thus exposure estimates are sensitive to positional errors. This study evaluates positional and PM2.5 concentration errors that result from the use of automated geocoding methods and from linearized approximations of roads in link-based emission inventories. Two automated geocoders (Bing Map and ArcGIS) along with handheld GPS instruments were used to geocode 160 home locations of children enrolled in an air pollution study investigating effects of traffic-related pollutants in Detroit, Michigan. The average and maximum positional errors using the automated geocoders were 35 and 196 m, respectively. Comparing road edge and road centerline, differences in house-to-highway distances averaged 23 m and reached 82 m. These differences were attributable to road curvature, road width and the presence of ramps, factors that should be considered in proximity measures used either directly as an exposure metric or as inputs to dispersion or other models. Effects of positional errors for the 160 homes on PM2.5 concentrations resulting from traffic-related emissions were predicted using a detailed road network and the RLINE dispersion model. Concentration errors averaged only 9%, but maximum errors reached 54% for annual averages and 87% for maximum 24-h averages. Whereas most geocoding errors appear modest in magnitude, 5% to 20% of residences are expected to have positional errors exceeding 100 m. Such errors can substantially alter exposure estimates near roads because of the dramatic spatial gradients of traffic-related pollutant concentrations. To ensure the accuracy of exposure estimates for traffic-related air pollutants, especially near roads, confirmation of geocoordinates is recommended. PMID:25670023

Determination of the relative pose of satellites is essential in space rendezvous operations and on-orbit servicing missions. The key problems are the adoption of suitable sensor on board of a chaser and efficient techniques for pose estimation. This paper aims to estimate the pose of a target satellite in close range on the basis of its known model by using point cloud data generated by a flash LIDAR sensor. A novel model based pose estimation method is proposed; it includes a fast and reliable pose initial acquisition method based on global optimal searching by processing the dense point cloud data directly, and a pose tracking method based on Iterative Closest Point algorithm. Also, a simulation system is presented in this paper in order to evaluate the performance of the sensor and generate simulated sensor point cloud data. It also provides truth pose of the test target so that the pose estimation error can be quantified. To investigate the effectiveness of the proposed approach and achievable pose accuracy, numerical simulation experiments are performed; results demonstrate algorithm capability of operating with point cloud directly and large pose variations. Also, a field testing experiment is conducted and results show that the proposed method is effective. PMID:27271633

Detection and estimation of materials in the atmosphere by lidar has heretofore required that the spectral dependence of the relevant cross section coefficients -- backscatter in the case of aerosols and absorptivity for vapors -- be known in advance. While this typically is a reasonable assumption in the case of vapor, the aerosol backscatter coefficients are complicated functions of particle size, shape, and refractive index, and are therefore usually not well characterized a priori. Using incorrect parameters will give biased concentration estimates and impair discrimination ability. This paper describes an approach for estimating both the spectral dependence of the aerosol backscatter and relative concentration range-dependence of a set of materials using multi-wavelength lidar. The approach is based on state-space filtering that applies a Kalman filter in range for concentration, and updates the backscatter spectral estimates through a sequential least-squares algorithm at each time step. The method is illustrated on aerosol-release data of the bio-simulant ovalbumin collected by ECBC during field tests in 2002, as well as synthetic data sets.

Determination of the relative pose of satellites is essential in space rendezvous operations and on-orbit servicing missions. The key problems are the adoption of suitable sensor on board of a chaser and efficient techniques for pose estimation. This paper aims to estimate the pose of a target satellite in close range on the basis of its known model by using point cloud data generated by a flash LIDAR sensor. A novel model based pose estimation method is proposed; it includes a fast and reliable pose initial acquisition method based on global optimal searching by processing the dense point cloud data directly, and a pose tracking method based on Iterative Closest Point algorithm. Also, a simulation system is presented in this paper in order to evaluate the performance of the sensor and generate simulated sensor point cloud data. It also provides truth pose of the test target so that the pose estimation error can be quantified. To investigate the effectiveness of the proposed approach and achievable pose accuracy, numerical simulation experiments are performed; results demonstrate algorithm capability of operating with point cloud directly and large pose variations. Also, a field testing experiment is conducted and results show that the proposed method is effective. PMID:27271633

Rendezvous & Docking to passive objects, as of relevance for space debris removal, raises new challenges with respect to relative navigation. Whenever the position and orientation (pose) of an object is required in terrestrial and in space applications, sensor systems such as laser scanners and stereo vision systems are often employed. This paper presents an approach to pose estimation using a 3D time-of-flight camera for ranging information in combination with a high resolution grayscale camera. We have designed a pose estimation method that fuses the data streams of the two sensors in order to benefit from each sensors' advantages. A rigorous test campaign on a Real-Time Hardware-In-The-Loop Rendezvous and Docking Simulator - the European Proximity Operations Simulator (EPOS) - was performed in order to evaluate the performance of the resulting algorithm. The proposed pose estimation method does not exceed an average distance error of 3 cm while being capable of providing pose estimates at up to 60 FPS on recent hardware. Thus, when regarding proximity operations, an attractive sensor system is used to characterize the dynamics of the target object for safe approach results.

Sediment cores from a newly formed urban lake (Longjinghu Lake in China's Chongqing City) were selected to study the vertical distribution characteristics of both nitrogen and phosphorus from the overlying water to porewater, and then fluxes of ammonia (NH4+ -N) and orthophosphate (PO(3-)(4)-P) from different areas of the lake were calculated using a one-dimensional transport-reaction model based on the Fick's First Law. The results showed that the mean ammonia concentrations in porewater of surface layers (0-5 cm) was 6. 13 mg-L-1 +/-3.07 mg.L-1 , higher by a factor of 10 compared with that in the overlying water. While orthophosphate contents tended to increase downwards, reaching a peak in surface sediment porewater, and then decreased in downcore, with a mean concentration of 2. 01 mg.L-1 +/- 1.05 mg L-1. Based on the porewater diffusion model, ammonia were released from sediments to overlying water, which indicated potential internal nutrient releasing risk. Although the flux of ammonia in the "initial lake area" was higher than that in the "newly submerged area", the annual load contribution from the "newly submerged area" was 85% (3.95 t.a-1). Similar to ammonia, orthophosphate was also released from sediments to overlying water in the "initial lake area", with the highest fluxes in the former Longjinghu Lake and Longjingou Lake Reservoir, reaching 7. 89 mg. ( m2 d)-1 and 6. 13 mg ( m2 .d)-1, respectively. However, in a portion of the "newly submerged area", orthophosphate in the overlying water was transported to the sediments, resulting in negative fluxes ranging from - 1.93 to -2.78 mg (m2 d) -1. The annual load of orthophosphate from the whole sediments was 0. 357 t.a-1, with 72% contributed by the "newly submerged area". PMID:25055659

This paper presents a simple, fast and sensitive method to determine chromic oxide (used as a biological marker of fish feed) in samples of fish feces by GFAAS through the direct introduction of slurries of the samples into the spectrometer's graphite tube. The standard samples of feces and of fish feed containing 0.10-1.00mgkg(-1) of Cr(2)O(3) were pre-frozen for 1min in liquid nitrogen and then ground a cryogenic mill for 2min, which reduced the samples' grain size to less than 60mum. The standard slurries were prepared by mixing 20mg of standard samples of fish feed or feces with 1mL of a solution containing 0.05% (v/v) of Triton X-100 and 0.50% (v/v) of suprapure HNO(3) directly in the spectrometer's automatic sampling glass. The final concentrations of Cr(2)O(3) present in the standard slurries were 2, 4, 8, 16 and 20mugL(-1). After sonicating the mixture for 20s, 10muL of standard slurries were injected into the graphite tube, whose internal wall was lined with a metallic palladium film that acted as a permanent chemical modifier. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) calculated for 20 readings of the blank of the standard slurries (2%, m/v of feces or feed devoid of minerals) were 0.81 and 2.70mugL(-1) of Cr(2)O(3) for the standard feces slurries, 0.84 and 2.83mugL(-1) of Cr(2)O(3) for the standard feed slurries. The proposed method was applied in studies of nutrient digestibility of different fish feeds and its results proved compatible with the results obtained from samples pre-mineralized by acid digestion. PMID:18970675

In this paper, we use a dynamic network flow model, coupled with a transient storage zone biogeochemical model, to simulate dissolved nutrient removal processes at the channel network scale. We have explored several scenarios in respect of the combination of rainfall variability, and the biological and geomorphic characteristics of the catchment, to understand the dominant controls on removal and delivery of dissolved nutrients (e.g., nitrate). These model-based theoretical analyses suggested that while nutrient removal efficiency is lower during flood events compared to during baseflow periods, flood events contribute significantly to bulk nutrient removal, whereas bulk removal during baseflow periods is less. This is due to the fact that nutrient supply is larger during flood events; this trend is even stronger in large rivers. However, the efficiency of removal during both periods decreases in larger rivers, however, due to (i) increasing flow velocities and thus decreasing residence time, and (ii) increasing flow depth, and thus decreasing nutrient uptake rates. Besides nutrient removal processes can be divided into two parts: in the main channel and in the hyporheic transient storage zone. When assessing their relative contributions the size of the transient storage zone is a dominant control, followed by uptake rates in the main channel and in the transient storage zone. Increasing size of the transient storage zone with downstream distance affects the relative contributions to nutrient removal of the water column and the transient storage zone, which also impacts the way nutrient removal rates scale with increasing size of rivers. Intra-annual hydrologic variability has a significant impact on removal rates at all scales: the more variable the streamflow is, compared to mean discharge, the less nutrient is removed in the channel network. A scale-independent first order uptake coefficient, ke, estimated from model simulations, is highly dependent on the

The heterogeneity of parameters is a ubiquitous biological phenomenon, with critical implications for biological systems functioning in normal and diseased states. We developed a method to estimate the level of objects set heterogeneity with reference to particular parameters and applied it to type II diabetes and heart disease, as examples of age-related systemic dysfunctions. The Friedman test was used to establish the existence of heterogeneity. The Newman-Keuls multiple comparison method was used to determine clusters. The normalized Shannon entropy was used to provide the quantitative evaluation of heterogeneity. There was obtained an estimate for the heterogeneity of the diagnostic parameters in healthy subjects, as well as in heart disease and type II diabetes patients, which was strongly related to their age. With aging, as with the diseases, the level of heterogeneity (entropy) was reduced, indicating a formal analogy between these phenomena. The similarity of the patterns in aging and disease suggested a kind of "early aging" of the diseased subjects, or alternatively a "disease-like" aging process, with reference to these particular parameters. The proposed method and its validation on the chronic age-related disease samples may support a way toward a formal mathematical relation between aging and chronic diseases and a formal definition of aging and disease, as determined by particular heterogeneity (entropy) changes. PMID:25110613

The specific signatures of alpha-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were investigated to estimate the intrinsic stress in this compound according to its elaboration mode. Thus, alpha-alumina was prepared either by calcination of boehmite or gibbsite and also generated by oxidation of a metallic FeCrAl alloy. FTIR results were mainly supported by X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns that allowed to determine the crystallite size and the strain in the various alpha aluminas. Moreover, the infrared peak at 378.7 cm{sup -1} was used as a reference for stress free alpha-alumina and the shift of this peak allowed to estimate intrinsic stresses, which were related to the morphology and to the specific surface area of aluminas according to their elaboration mode. These interpretations were confirmed by results obtained by cathodoluminescence experiments. - Graphical abstract: The infrared peak at 378.7 cm{sup -1} was used as a reference for stress free alpha-alumina and the shift of this peak allowed to estimate intrinsic stresses, which were related to the morphology and to the specific surface area of aluminas according to their elaboration mode.

Most vegetation is limited in productivity by nutrient availability, but the magnitude of limitation globally is not known. Nutrient limitation is directly relevant not only to ecology and agriculture, but also to the global carbon cycle by regulating how much atmospheric CO2the terrestrial biosphere can sequester. We attempt to identify total nutrient limitation in terrestrial plant productivity globally using ecophysiological theory and new developments in remote sensing for evapotranspiration and plant productivity. Our map of nutrient limitation qualitatively reproduces known regional nutrient gradients (e.g., across Amazonia), highlights differences in nutrient addition to croplands (e.g., between "developed" and "developing" countries), identifies the role of nutrients on the distribution of major biomes (e.g., tree line migration in boreal North America), and compares similarly to a ground-based test along the Long Substrate Age Gradient in Hawaii, U.S.A. (e.g., foliar and soil nutrients, litter decomposition). Nonetheless, challenges in representing light and water use efficiencies, disturbance, and comparison to ground data with multiple interacting nutrients provide avenues for further progress on refining such a global map. Global average reduction in terrestrial plant productivity was within 16-28%, depending on treatment of disturbance; these values can be compared to global carbon cycle model estimates of carbon uptake reduction with nutrient cycle inclusion.

Data were gathered from May through September 2002 at 76 randomly selected sites in the Whitewater River and East Fork White River Basins, Indiana, for algal biomass, habitat, nutrients, and biological communities (fish and invertebrates). Basin characteristics (land use and drainage area) and biolog-ical-community attributes and metric scores were determined for the basin of each sampling site. Yearly Principal Compo-nents Analysis site scores were calculated for algal biomass (periphyton and seston). The yearly Principal Components Analysis site scores for the first axis (PC1) were related using Spearman's rho to the seasonal algal-biomass, basin-charac-teristics, habitat, seasonal nutrient, and biological-community attribute and metric score data. The periphyton PC1 site score was not significantly related to the nine habitat or 12 nutrient variables examined. One land-use variable, drainage area, was negatively related to the periphyton PC1. Of the 43 fish-community attributes and metrics examined, the periphyton PC1 was negatively related to one attribute (large-river percent) and one metric score (car-nivore percent metric score). It was positively related to three fish-community attributes (headwater percent, pioneer percent, and simple lithophil percent). The periphyton PC1 was not statistically related to any of the 21 invertebrate-community attributes or metric scores examined. Of the 12 nutrient variables examined two were nega-tively related to the seston PC1 site score in two seasons: total Kjeldahl nitrogen (July and September), and TP (May and September). There were no statistically significant relations between the seston PC1 and the five basin-characteristics or nine habitat variables examined. Of the 43 fish-community attributes and metrics examined, the seston PC1 was positively related to one attribute (headwater percent) and negatively related to one metric score (large-river percent metric score) . Of the 21 invertebrate-community attributes

Background: Investigators have examined whether heat mortality risk is increased in neighborhoods subject to the urban heat island (UHI) effect but have not identified degrees of difference in susceptibility to heat and cold between cool and hot areas, which we call acclimatization to the UHI. Objectives: We developed methods to examine and quantify the degree of acclimatization to heat- and cold-related mortality in relation to UHI anomalies and applied these methods to London, UK. Methods: Case–crossover analyses were undertaken on 1993–2006 mortality data from London UHI decile groups defined by anomalies from the London average of modeled air temperature at a 1-km grid resolution. We estimated how UHI anomalies modified excess mortality on cold and hot days for London overall and displaced a fixed-shape temperature-mortality function (“shifted spline” model). We also compared the observed associations with those expected under no or full acclimatization to the UHI. Results: The relative risk of death on hot versus normal days differed very little across UHI decile groups. A 1°C UHI anomaly multiplied the risk of heat death by 1.004 (95% CI: 0.950, 1.061) (interaction rate ratio) compared with the expected value of 1.070 (1.057, 1.082) if there were no acclimatization. The corresponding UHI interaction for cold was 1.020 (0.979, 1.063) versus 1.030 (1.026, 1.034) (actual versus expected under no acclimatization, respectively). Fitted splines for heat shifted little across UHI decile groups, again suggesting acclimatization. For cold, the splines shifted somewhat in the direction of no acclimatization, but did not exclude acclimatization. Conclusions: We have proposed two analytical methods for estimating the degree of acclimatization to the heat- and cold-related mortality burdens associated with UHIs. The results for London suggest relatively complete acclimatization to the UHI effect on summer heat–related mortality, but less clear evidence for

Body size can be an important factor controlling consumer stoichiometry. In holometabolous insects, body size is typically associated with nutrient storage. Consumer stoichiometry is known to vary within species across a range of body sizes; however, the contribution of nutrient storage to this variation is not well understood. We used the fifth-instar larvae of the oak weevil (Coleoptera: Curculio davidi Fairmaire), which is characterized by a high capacity for nutrient storage, to investigate the effect of shifts in nutrient storage with body mass on variations in larva stoichiometry. Our results showed that weevil larvae with larger body mass had a lower carbon (C) content, reflecting decreases in the sequestration rate of C-rich lipids. Larger larvae had elevated concentrations of nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), and protein. The similar patterns of variation in elemental composition and macromolecule storage with body weight indicate that the shift in nutrient storage is the main factor causing the variation in larval stoichiometry with body weight. This finding was further supported by the low variation in residual larval biomass C, N, and S concentrations after lipid extraction. These results help decipher the physiological mechanism of stoichiometric regulation in growing organisms. PMID:25843579

The expression levels of genes involved in drug and nutrient absorption were evaluated in the Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) in vitro drug absorption model. MDCK cells were grown on plastic surfaces (for 3 days) or on Transwell® membranes (for 3, 5, 7, and 9 days). The expression profile of genes including ABC transporters, SLC transporters, and cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes was determined using the Affymetrix® Canine GeneChip®. Expression of genes whose probe sets passed a stringent confirmation process was examined. Expression of a few transporter (MDR1, PEPT1 and PEPT2) genes in MDCK cells was confirmed by RT-PCR. The overall gene expression profile was strongly influenced by the type of support the cells were grown on. After 3 days of growth, expression of 28% of the genes was statistically different (1.5-fold cutoff, p < 0.05) between the cells grown on plastic and Transwell® membranes. When cells were differentiated on Transwell® membranes, large changes in gene expression profile were observed during the early stages, which then stabilized after 5–7 days. Only a small number of genes encoding drug absorption related SLC, ABC, and CYP were detected in MDCK cells, and most of them exhibited low hybridization signals. Results from this study provide valuable reference information on endogenous gene expression in MDCK cells that could assist in design of drug-transporter and/or drug-enzyme interaction studies, and help interpret the contributions of various transporters and metabolic enzymes in studies with MDCK cells. PMID:24300234

During a plant's lifecycle, the availability of nutrients in the soil is mostly heterogeneous in space and time. Plants are able to adapt to nutrient shortage or localized nutrient availability by altering their root system architecture to efficiently explore soil zones containing the limited nutrient. It has been shown that the deficiency of different nutrients induces root architectural and morphological changes that are, at least to some extent, nutrient specific. Here, we highlight what is known about the importance of individual root system components for nutrient acquisition and how developmental and physiological responses can be coupled to increase nutrient foraging by roots. In addition, we review prominent molecular mechanisms involved in altering the root system in response to local nutrient availability or to the plant's nutritional status. PMID:25082891

We are now in the advanced detector era of gravitational wave astronomy, and the merger of two black holes (BHs) is one of the most promising sources of gravitational waves that could be detected on earth. To infer the BH masses and spins, the observed signal must be compared to waveforms predicted by general relativity for millions of binary configurations. Numerical relativity (NR) simulations can produce accurate waveforms, but are prohibitively expensive to use for parameter estimation. Other waveform models are fast enough but may lack accuracy in portions of the parameter space. Numerical relativity surrogate models attempt to rapidly predict the results of a NR code with a small or negligible modeling error, after being trained on a set of input waveforms. Such surrogate models are ideal for parameter estimation, as they are both fast and accurate, and have already been built for the case of non-spinning BHs. Using 250 input waveforms, we build a surrogate model for waveforms from the Spectral Einstein Code (SpEC) for a subspace of precessing systems.

Data were gathered from July through September 2001 at 34 randomly selected sites in the West Fork White River Basin, Indiana for algal biomass, habitat, nutrients, and biological communities (fish and invertebrates). Basin characteristics (drainage area and land use) and biological-community attributes and metric scores were determined for the basin of each sampling site. Yearly Principal Components Analysis site scores were calculated for algal biomass (periphyton and seston). The yearly Principal Components Analysis site scores for the first axis (PC1) were related, using Spearman's rho, to the seasonal algal-biomass, basin-characteristics, habitat, seasonal nutrient, biological-community attribute and metric score data. The periphyton PC1 site score, which was most influenced by ash-free dry mass, was negatively related to one (percent closed canopy) of nine habitat variables examined. Of the 43 fish-community attributes and metric scores examined, the periphyton PC1 was positively related to one fish-community attribute (percent tolerant). Of the 21 invertebrate-community attributes and metric scores examined, the periphyton PC1 was positively related to one attribute (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) index) and one metric score (EPT index metric score). The periphyton PC1 was not related to the five basin-characteristic or 12 nutrient variables examined. The seston PC1 site score, which was most influenced by particulate organic carbon, was negatively related to two of the 12 nutrient variables examined: total Kjeldahl nitrogen (July) and total phosphorus (July). Of the 43 fish-community attributes and metric scores examined, the seston PC1 was negatively related to one attribute (large-river percent). Of the 21 invertebrate-community attributes and metric scores examined, the seston PC1 was negatively related to one attribute (EPT-to-total ratio). The seston PC1 was not related to the five basin-characteristics or nine habitat variables

A nutrient-dense diet is a critical aspect in attaining optimal exercise training and athletic performance outcomes. Although including safe and effective nutritional supplements in the dietary design can be extremely helpful in promoting adequate caloric ingestion, they are not sufficient for promoting adequate caloric ingestion based on individualized caloric expenditure needs without the proper diet. Specifically, a strategic and scientifically based nutrient-dense dietary profile should be created by qualified professionals to meet the sport/exercise-specific energy demands of any individual involved in select training intensity protocols. Finally, ingesting the right quantity and quality of nutrient dense calories at precise windows of opportunity becomes vital in attaining desired training and/or competitive performance outcomes.

Excess nitrogen in a river system can cause an overabundance of aquatic plant growth that can cause negative effects on larger water bodies downstream. This can result in eutrophication resulting in large algae blooms that hurt local recreation and fish populations. Recent studies have focused on developing seasonal nutrient forecasts that can be used to control nonpoint reduction strategies. Given that the seasonal nutrients are developed using large-scale climate forecasts, it needs to be pre-processed for ingesting into a water quality model. By considering the LOADEST model, a USGS constituent load estimator, and the Soil &Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) this study quantifies the sources of errors in developing monthly to seasonal nutrient forecasts using climate information. For this purpose, we consider the observed streamflow and nutrient loadings at the Tar River at Tarboro, NC station for developing and testing the water quality models. This streamgage was chosen since it is part of the Hydro-Climatic Data Network (HCDN) which naturally considers basins that are relatively undeveloped with limited storage and pumping. The study also proposes two bias-correction procedures, a bivariate copula-based model and a canonical correlation model, for preserving the cross-correlation structure between the observed nutrients and streamflows. Climate forecasts from the ECHAM4.5 model and NOAA NCEP Climate Forecast System (CFS) will be downscaled and disaggregated for developing nutrient forecasts from the SWAT model and the LOADEST model. Using both the canonical correlation model and the bi-variate copula based bias-correction procedures, the forecasted streamflow and TN loadings will be bias-corrected to preserve the correlation structure. The study will also quantify and compare different sources of errors that propagate in developing monthly to seasonal nutrient forecasts using climate information.

Static relations between elbow joint angle and torque at constant muscle activity in normal volunteers were investigated with the aid of an artificial neural network technique. A subject sat on a chair and moved his upper- and forearm in a horizontal plane at the height of his shoulder. The subject was instructed to maintain the elbow joint at a pre-determined angle. The wrist was then pulled to extend the elbow joint by the gravitational force of a weight hanging from a pulley. Integrated electromyograms (IEMGs), elbow and shoulder joint angles and elbow joint torque were measured. Then the relation among IEMGs, joint angles and torque was modeled with the aid of the artificial neural network, where IEMGs and joint angles were the inputs and torque was the output. After back propagation learning, we presented various combinations of IEMGs, shoulder and elbow joint angles to the model and estimated the elbow joint torque to obtain the torque-angle relation for constant muscle activation. The elbow joint torque increased and then decreased with extension of the elbow joint. This suggests that if the forearm is displaced from an equilibrium point, the torque angle relation would not act like a simple spring. In a view of the musculoskeletal structure of the elbow joint, the relation between the elbow joint angle and the moment arm of the elbow flexor muscles seems to have a dominant effect on the torque-angle relation. PMID:9755039

Nutrient recycling by consumers in streams can influence ecosystem nutrient availability and the assemblage and growth of photoautotrophs. Stream fishes can play a large role in nutrient recycling, but contributions by other vertebrates to overall recycling rates remain poorly studied. In tributaries of the Pacific Northwest, coastal giant salamanders (Dicamptodon tenebrosus) occur at high densities alongside steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and are top aquatic predators. We surveyed the density and body size distributions of D. tenebrosus and O. mykiss in a California tributary stream, combined with a field study to determine mass-specific excretion rates of ammonium (N) and total dissolved phosphorus (P) for D. tenebrosus. We estimated O. mykiss excretion rates (N, P) by bioenergetics using field-collected data on the nutrient composition of O. mykiss diets from the same system. Despite lower abundance, D. tenebrosus biomass was 2.5 times higher than O. mykiss. Mass-specific excretion summed over 170 m of stream revealed that O. mykiss recycle 1.7 times more N, and 1.2 times more P than D. tenebrosus, and had a higher N:P ratio (8.7) than that of D. tenebrosus (6.0), or the two species combined (7.5). Through simulated trade-offs in biomass, we estimate that shifts from salamander biomass toward fish biomass have the potential to ease nutrient limitation in forested tributary streams. These results suggest that natural and anthropogenic heterogeneity in the relative abundance of these vertebrates and variation in the uptake rates across river networks can affect broad-scale patterns of nutrient limitation. PMID:23520520

Deriving valid inferences about the causes and consequences of dispersal from empirical studies depends largely on our ability reliably to estimate parameters associated with dispersal. Here, we present a review of the methods available for estimating dispersal and related parameters using marked individuals. We emphasize methods that place dispersal in a probabilistic framework. In this context, we define a dispersal event as a movement of a specified distance or from one predefined patch to another, the magnitude of the distance or the definition of a `patch? depending on the ecological or evolutionary question(s) being addressed. We have organized the chapter based on four general classes of data for animals that are captured, marked, and released alive: (1) recovery data, in which animals are recovered dead at a subsequent time, (2) recapture/resighting data, in which animals are either recaptured or resighted alive on subsequent sampling occasions, (3) known-status data, in which marked animals are reobserved alive or dead at specified times with probability 1.0, and (4) combined data, in which data are of more than one type (e.g., live recapture and ring recovery). For each data type, we discuss the data required, the estimation techniques, and the types of questions that might be addressed from studies conducted at single and multiple sites.

Version 00 RELAP4/MOD7/101 performs best estimate analyses of nuclear reactors or related systems undergoing a transient. Transient thermal-hydraulic, two-phase phenomena are calculated from formulations of one-dimensional, homogeneous, equilibrium conservation equations for water mass, momentum, and energy. Heat structures are modeled using a transient one-dimensional heat conduction solution that is coupled to the fluid through heat transfer relations. Various explicit models are used to calculate nonhomogeneous, nonequilibrium behavior including a phase separation model, a vertical slipmore » model, and a nonequilibrium model. Other models are used to represent critical flow, reactor kinetics, pressurized water reactor reflood behavior, nuclear fuel rod swelling and blockage, and components such as pumps, valves, and accumulators.« less

An approach is proposed to obtain regression relations to estimate the mechanical properties of steels subjected to solid-solution hardening. The applicability of the developed approach is shown for hot-rolled sheet austenitic iron-nickel and nickel alloys after quenching, toughened low-alloy structural steels with a sorbite structure in the case of full hardenabilty, sheet corrosion-resistant ferritic steels after softening heat treatment, and corrosion-resistant austenitic steels after austenitization. The derived regression relations serve as the basis for correcting the chemical composition of a metal melt to ensure the required level of the mechanical properties of ready products by controlling the degree of solid-solution hardening.

Phycobiliproteins are a family of water-soluble pigment proteins that play an important role as accessory or antenna pigments and absorb in the green part of the light spectrum poorly used by chlorophyll a. The phycoerythrins (PEs) are one of four types of phycobiliproteins that are generally distinguished based on their absorption properties. As PEs are water soluble, they are generally not captured with conventional pigment analysis. Here we present a statistical model based on in situ measurements of three transatlantic cruises which allows us to derive relative PE concentration from standardized hyperspectral underwater radiance measurements (Lu). The model relies on Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis of Lu spectra and, subsequently, a Generalized Linear Model with measured PE concentrations as the response variable and EOF loadings as predictor variables. The method is used to predict relative PE concentrations throughout the water column and to calculate integrated PE estimates based on those profiles.

We address the problem of obtaining a reliable seismic image without prior knowledge of the source wavelet, especially from data that contain strong surface-related multiples. Conventional reverse-time migration requires prior knowledge of the source wavelet, which is either technically or computationally challenging to accurately determine; inaccurate estimates of the source wavelet can result in seriously degraded reverse-time migrated images, and therefore wrong geological interpretations. To solve this problem, we present a "wavelet-free" imaging procedure that simultaneously inverts for the source wavelet and the seismic image, by tightly integrating source estimation into a fast least-squares imaging framework, namely compressive imaging, given a reasonably accurate background velocity model. However, this joint inversion problem is difficult to solve as it is plagued with local minima and the ambiguity with respect to amplitude scalings, because of the multiplicative, and therefore nonlinear, appearance of the source wavelet in the otherwise linear formalism. We have found a way to solve this nonlinear joint-inversion problem using a technique called variable projection, and a way to overcome the scaling ambiguity by including surface-related multiples in our imaging procedure following recent developments in surface-related multiple prediction by sparse inversion. As a result, we obtain without prior knowledge of the source wavelet high-resolution seismic images, comparable in quality to images obtained assuming the true source wavelet is known. By leveraging the computationally efficient compressive-imaging methodology, these results are obtained at affordable computational costs compared with conventional processing work flows that include surface-related multiple removal and reverse-time migration.

We address the problem of obtaining a reliable seismic image without prior knowledge of the source wavelet, especially from data that contain strong surface-related multiples. Conventional reverse-time migration requires prior knowledge of the source wavelet, which is either technically or computationally challenging to accurately determine; inaccurate estimates of the source wavelet can result in seriously degraded reverse-time migrated images, and therefore wrong geological interpretations. To solve this problem, we present a `wavelet-free' imaging procedure that simultaneously inverts for the source wavelet and the seismic image, by tightly integrating source estimation into a fast least-squares imaging framework, namely compressive imaging, given a reasonably accurate background velocity model. However, this joint inversion problem is difficult to solve as it is plagued with local minima and the ambiguity with respect to amplitude scalings because of the multiplicative, and therefore nonlinear, appearance of the source wavelet in the otherwise linear formalism. We have found a way to solve this nonlinear joint-inversion problem using a technique called variable projection, and a way to overcome the scaling ambiguity by including surface-related multiples in our imaging procedure following recent developments in surface-related multiple prediction by sparse inversion. As a result, we obtain without prior knowledge of the source wavelet high-resolution seismic images, comparable in quality to images obtained assuming the true source wavelet is known. By leveraging the computationally efficient compressive-imaging methodology, these results are obtained at affordable computational costs compared with conventional processing work flows that include surface-related multiple removal and reverse-time migration.

Point counts are used widely to index bird populations. Variation in the proportion of birds counted is a known source of error, and for robust inference it has been advocated that counts be converted to estimates of absolute population size. We used simulation to assess nine methods for the conduct and analysis of point counts when the data included distance-related heterogeneity of individual detection probability. Distance from the observer is a ubiquitous source of heterogeneity, because nearby birds are more easily detected than distant ones. Several recent methods (dependent double-observer, time of first detection, time of detection, independent multiple-observer, and repeated counts) do not account for distance-related heterogeneity, at least in their simpler forms. We assessed bias in estimates of population size by simulating counts with fixed radius w over four time intervals (occasions). Detection probability per occasion was modeled as a half-normal function of distance with scale parameter sigma and intercept g(0) = 1.0. Bias varied with sigma/w; values of sigma inferred from published studies were often 50% for a 100-m fixed-radius count. More critically, the bias of adjusted counts sometimes varied more than that of unadjusted counts, and inference from adjusted counts would be less robust. The problem was not solved by using mixture models or including distance as a covariate. Conventional distance sampling performed well in simulations, but its assumptions are difficult to meet in the field. We conclude that no existing method allows effective estimation of population size from point counts.

Abstract Objective To assess the feasibility of measuring maternal mortality in countries lacking accurate birth and death registration through national population censuses by a detailed evaluation of such data for three Latin American countries. Methods We used established demographic techniques, including the general growth balance method, to evaluate the completeness and coverage of the household death data obtained through population censuses. We also compared parity to cumulative fertility data to evaluate the coverage of recent household births. After evaluating the data and adjusting it as necessary, we calculated pregnancy-related mortality ratios (PRMRs) per 100 000 live births and used them to estimate maternal mortality. Findings The PRMRs for Honduras (2001), Nicaragua (2005) and Paraguay (2002) were 168, 95 and 178 per 100 000 live births, respectively. Surprisingly, evaluation of the data for Nicaragua and Paraguay showed overreporting of adult deaths, so a downward adjustment of 20% to 30% was required. In Honduras, the number of adult female deaths required substantial upward adjustment. The number of live births needed minimal adjustment. The adjusted PRMR estimates are broadly consistent with existing estimates of maternal mortality from various data sources, though the comparison varies by source. Conclusion Census data can be used to measure pregnancy-related mortality as a proxy for maternal mortality in countries with poor death registration. However, because our data were obtained from countries with reasonably good statistical systems and literate populations, we cannot be certain the methods employed in the study will be equally useful in more challenging environments. Our data evaluation and adjustment methods worked, but with considerable uncertainty. Ways of quantifying this uncertainty are needed. PMID:19551237

Determination of the relative abundance of two populations, separated by time or space, is of interest in many ecological situations. We focus on two estimators of relative abundance, which assume that the probability that an individual is detected at least once in the survey is either equal or unequal for the two populations. We present three methods for incorporating the collected information into our inference. The first method, proposed previously, is a traditional hypothesis test for evidence that detection probabilities are unequal. However, we feel that, a priori, it is more likely that detection probabilities are actually different; hence, the burden of proof should be shifted, requiring evidence that detection probabilities are practically equivalent. The second method we present, equivalence testing, is one approach to doing so. Third, we suggest that model averaging could be used by combining the two estimators according to derived model weights. These differing approaches are applied to a mark-recapture experiment on Nuttail's cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus nuttallii) conducted in central Oregon during 1974 and 1975, which has been previously analyzed by other authors.

We present calibrated scaling relations (also referred to as Tully-Fisher relations or TFRs) between rotation velocity and photometric quantities-- absolute magnitude, stellar mass, and synthetic magnitude (a linear combination of absolute magnitude and color)-- of disk galaxies at z 0.1. First, we selected a parent disk sample of 170,000 galaxies from SDSS DR7, with redshifts between 0.02 and 0.10 and r band absolute magnitudes between -18.0 and -22.5. Then, we constructed a child disk sample of 189 galaxies that span the parameter space-- in absolute magnitude, color, and disk size-- covered by the parent sample, and for which we have obtained kinematic data. Long-slit spectroscopy were obtained from the Dual Imaging Spectrograph (DIS) at the Apache Point Observatory 3.5 m for 99 galaxies, and from Pizagno et al. (2007) for 95 galaxies (five have repeat observations). We find the best photometric estimator of disk rotation velocity to be a synthetic magnitude with a color correction that is consistent with the Bell et al. (2003) color-based stellar mass ratio. The improved rotation velocity estimates have a wide range of scientific applications, and in particular, in combination with weak lensing measurements, they enable us to constrain the ratio of optical-to-virial velocity in disk galaxies.

Four hydrographic cruises were conducted on the Amazon shelf as part of the AMASSEDS field program. During each cruise, approximately 55 stations were occupied and nutrients, as well as other hydrographic parameters, were measured. The results of this time series sampling program indicate that the nutrient concentrations in the riverine end-member (silicate = 144 μmol kg -1, phosphate = 0.7 μmol kg -1, nitrate = 16 μmol kg -1, ammonium = 0.4 μmol kg -1, and urea = 0.9 μmol kg -1) remain relatively constant, despite a two-fold seasonal variation in river water discharge rate. Of the major nutrients (nitrate, phosphate, ammonium and silicate), nitrate shows the greatest seasonal change in riverine end-member concentration with a high value (23 μmol kg -1) during the March cruise (rising river discharge) and a low value (12 μmol kg -1) during the November cruise (falling river discharge). Nitrate is the dominant nutrient form of inorganic nitrogen throughout most of the river/ocean mixing zone, however, in the outershelf area, where nitrate has been depleted by biological production, this nutrient occurs at concentrations comparable to the other nitrogen species (ammonium, nitrite and urea), which are at levels < 1 μmol kg -1. Nearshore, high turbidity inhibits phytoplankton production because of light limitation, whereas on the outershelf, nitrate appears to be limiting growth more than silicate or phosphate. Nutrient uptake was observed during all four cruises, however, nearly all of this production must be regenerated in shelf bottom waters, because very little of the biogenic materials are buried in the seabed (silicate burial <4% of flux to algal blooms; ˜10% burial of biologically available inorganic nitrogen reaching the river/ocean mixing zone; and <3% burial of phosphate flux to shelf environment). Clearly the Amazon shelf is not an efficient nutrient trap. Initial estimates of primary production on the Amazon shelf suggest that algal blooms are

Announces a nutrient density food scoring system called the Index of Nutritional Quality (INQ). It expresses the ratio between the percent RDA of a nutrient and the percent daily allowance of calories in a food. (Author/SA)

Background Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are consumed globally and contribute to adiposity. However, the worldwide impact of SSBs on burdens of adiposity-related cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancers, and diabetes has not been assessed by nation, age, and sex. Methods and Results We modeled global, regional, and national burdens of disease associated with SSB consumption by age/sex in 2010. Data on SSB consumption levels were pooled from national dietary surveys worldwide. The effects of SSB intake on BMI and diabetes, and of elevated BMI on CVD, diabetes, and cancers were derived from large prospective cohort pooling studies. Disease-specific mortality/morbidity data were obtained from Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2010 Study. We computed cause-specific population-attributable fractions for SSB consumption, which were multiplied by cause-specific mortality/morbidity to compute estimates of SSB-attributable death/disability. Analyses were done by country/age/sex; uncertainties of all input data were propagated into final estimates. Worldwide, the model estimated 184,000(95%UI=161,000–208,000) deaths/year attributable to SSB consumption: 133,000(126,000–139,000) from diabetes, 45,000(26,000–61,000) from CVD, and 6,450(4,300–8,600) from cancers. 5.0% of SSB-related deaths occurred in low-income, 70.9% in middle-income, and 24.1% in high-income countries. Proportional mortality due to SSBs ranged from <1% in Japanese >65y to 30% in Mexicans <45y. Among the 20 most populous countries, Mexico had largest absolute (405 deaths/million adults) and proportional (12.1%) deaths from SSBs. A total of 8.5(2.8, 19.2) million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were related to SSB intake (4.5% of diabetes-related DALYs). Conclusions SSBs, are a single, modifiable component of diet, that can impact preventable death/disability in adults in high, middle, and low-income countries, indicating an urgent need for strong global prevention programs

With rapid economic development and energy consumption growth, China has become the largest energy consumer in the world. Impelled by extensive international concern, there is an urgent need to analyze the characteristics of energy consumption and related carbon emission, with the objective of saving energy, reducing carbon emission, and lessening environmental impact. Focusing on urban ecosystems, the biggest energy consumer, a method for estimating energy consumption and related carbon emission was established at the urban sector scale in this paper. Based on data for 1996-2010, the proposed method was applied to Beijing in a case study to analyze the consumption of different energy resources (i.e., coal, oil, gas, and electricity) and related carbon emission in different sectors (i.e., agriculture, industry, construction, transportation, household, and service sectors). The results showed that coal and oil contributed most to energy consumption and carbon emission among different energy resources during the study period, while the industrial sector consumed the most energy and emitted the most carbon among different sectors. Suggestions were put forward for energy conservation and emission reduction in Beijing. The analysis of energy consumption and related carbon emission at the sector scale is helpful for practical energy saving and emission reduction in urban ecosystems.

Objective To describe similarities and differences in the number of civilian traumatic brain injury (TBI)-related hospitalizations and emergency department visits between national databases that capture US hospital data. Participants TBI-related hospitalizations included in the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) and Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample (HCUP-NIS) and emergency department visits in the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) and HCUP Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (HCUP-NEDS) for 2006–2010. Design Cross-sectional design. Main Measures Nationwide counts of TBI-related medical encounters. Results Overall, the frequency of TBI is comparable when comparing NHDS with HCUP-NIS and NHAMCS with HCUP-NEDS. However, annual counts in both NHDS and NHAMCS are consistently unstable when examined in smaller subgroups, such as by age group and injury mechanism. Injury mechanism is consistently missing from many more records in NHDS compared with HCUP-NIS. Conclusion Given the large sample size of HCUP-NIS and HCUP-NEDS, these data can offer a valuable resource for examining TBI-related hospitalization and emergency department visits, especially by subgroup. These data hold promise for future examinations of annual TBI counts, but ongoing comparisons with national probability samples will be necessary to ensure that HCUP continues to track with estimates from these data. PMID:25955702

Background HPV is related to a number of cancer types, causing a considerable burden in both genders in Europe. Female vaccination programs can substantially reduce the incidence of HPV-related diseases in women and, to some extent, men through herd immunity. The objective was to estimate the incremental benefit of vaccinating boys and girls using the quadrivalent HPV vaccine in Europe versus girls-only vaccination. Incremental benefits in terms of reduction in the incidence of HPV 6, 11, 16 and 18-related diseases (including cervical, vaginal, vulvar, anal, penile, and head and neck carcinomas and genital warts) were assessed. Methods The analysis was performed using a model constructed in Microsoft®Excel, based on a previously-published dynamic transmission model of HPV vaccination and published European epidemiological data on incidence of HPV-related diseases. The incremental benefits of vaccinating 12-year old girls and boys versus girls-only vaccination was assessed (70% vaccine coverage were assumed for both). Sensitivity analyses around vaccine coverage and duration of protection were performed. Results Compared with screening alone, girls-only vaccination led to 84% reduction in HPV 16/18-related carcinomas in females and a 61% reduction in males. Vaccination of girls and boys led to a 90% reduction in HPV 16/18-related carcinomas in females and 86% reduction in males versus screening alone. Relative to a girls-only program, vaccination of girls and boys led to a reduction in female and male HPV-related carcinomas of 40% and 65%, respectively and a reduction in the incidence of HPV 6/11-related genital warts of 58% for females and 71% for males versus girls-only vaccination. Conclusions In Europe, the vaccination of 12-year old boys and girls against HPV 6, 11, 16 and 18 would be associated with substantial additional clinical benefits in terms of reduced incidence of HPV-related genital warts and carcinomas versus girls-only vaccination. The incremental

The recent increase in the number of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) opens new perspectives in the field of high precision positioning. Particularly, the European Galileo program has experienced major progress in 2015 with the launch of 6 satellites belonging to the new Full Operational Capability (FOC) generation. Associated with the ongoing GPS modernization, many more frequencies and satellites are now available. Therefore, multi-GNSS relative positioning based on GPS and Galileo overlapping frequencies should entail better accuracy and reliability in position estimations. However, the differences between satellite systems induce inter-system biases (ISBs) inside the multi-GNSS equations of observation. Once these biases estimated and removed from the model, a solution involving a unique pivot satellite for the two considered constellations can be obtained. Such an approach implies that the addition of even one single Galileo satellite to the GPS-only model will strengthen it. The combined use of L1 and L5 from GPS with E1 and E5a from Galileo in zero baseline double differences (ZB DD) based on a unique pivot satellite is employed to resolve ISBs. This model removes all the satellite- and receiver-dependant error sources by differentiating and the zero baseline configuration allows atmospheric and multipath effects elimination. An analysis of the long-term stability of ISBs is conducted on various pairs of receivers over large time spans. The possible influence of temperature variations inside the receivers over ISB values is also investigated. Our study is based on the 5 multi-GNSS receivers (2 Septentrio PolaRx4, 1 Septentrio PolaRxS and 2 Trimble NetR9) installed on the roof of our building in Liege. The estimated ISBs are then used as corrections in the multi-GNSS observation model and the resulting accuracy of multi-GNSS positioning is compared to GPS and Galileo standalone solutions.

The effects of dynamical coupling between the rotational (attitude) and translational (orbital) motion of spacecraft near small Solar System bodies is investigated. This coupling arises due to the weak gravity of these bodies, as well as solar radiation pressure. The traditional approach assumes a point-mass spacecraft model to describe the translational motion of the spacecraft, while the attitude motion is considered to be completely decoupled from the translational motion. The model used here to describe the rigid-body spacecraft dynamics includes the non-uniform rotating gravity field of the small body up to second degree and order along with the attitude dependent terms, solar tide, and solar radiation pressure. This model shows that the second degree and order gravity terms due to the small body affect the dynamics of the spacecraft to the same extent as the orbit-attitude coupling due to the primary gravity (zeroth order) term. Variational integrators are used to simulate the dynamics of both the rigid spacecraft and the point mass. The small bodies considered here are modeled after Near-Earth Objects (NEO) 101955 Bennu, and 25143 Itokawa, and are assumed to be triaxial ellipsoids with uniform density. Differences in the numerically obtained trajectories of a rigid spacecraft and a point mass are then compared, to illustrate the impact of the orbit-attitude coupling on spacecraft dynamics in proximity of small bodies. Possible implications on the performance of model-based spacecraft control and on the station-keeping budget, if the orbit-attitude coupling is not accounted for in the model of the dynamics, are also discussed. An almost globally asymptotically stable motion estimation scheme based solely on visual/optical feedback that estimates the relative motion of the asteroid with respect to the spacecraft is also obtained. This estimation scheme does not require a model of the dynamics of the asteroid, which makes it perfectly suited for asteroids whose

A new technique based on a graph-theoretical approach is proposed for identifying and estimating voids in two-dimensional galaxy distributions. A relative neighborhood graph is utilized for identifying two-dimensional voids. The loop angle that characterizes the size of the voids is defined, and the distribution function as well as the average of loop angles are used for estimating the voids statistically. We applied our new technique to two-dimensional voids in Cold Dark Matter (CDM) simulations. Low-density, middle-density, and high-density CDM models were adopted for examining the nature of two-dimensional voids. >From our analyses, we found that the average of the loop angle in the low-density CDM model is apparently larger than that in the middle-density or the high-density CDM models. However, the difference between the middle-density and the high-density CDM models is subtle. We also analyzed the observational two-dimensional galaxy distributions and compared the two-dimensional mock samples that are constructed from CDM simulations. From our analyses, we succeeded to restrict the density parameter of our universe.

This paper compares syndromic surveillance and predictive weather-based models for estimating emergency department (ED) visits for Heat-Related Illness (HRI). A retrospective time-series analysis of weather station observations and ICD-coded HRI ED visits to ten hospitals in south eastern Ontario, Canada, was performed from April 2003 to December 2008 using hospital data from the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS) database, ED patient chief complaint data collected by a syndromic surveillance system, and weather data from Environment Canada. Poisson regression and Fast Orthogonal Search (FOS), a nonlinear time series modeling technique, were used to construct models for the expected number of HRI ED visits using weather predictor variables (temperature, humidity, and wind speed). Estimates of HRI visits from regression models using both weather variables and visit counts captured by syndromic surveillance as predictors were slightly more highly correlated with NACRS HRI ED visits than either regression models using only weather predictors or syndromic surveillance counts. PMID:21647355

One methodology is proposed to estimate the quantification and composition of building-related construction and demolition (C&D) waste in a fast developing region like Shanghai, PR China. The varieties of structure types and building waste intensities due to the requirement of progressive building design and structure codes in different decades are considered in this regional C&D waste estimation study. It is concluded that approximately 13.71 million tons of C&D waste was generated in 2012 in Shanghai, of which more than 80% of this C&D waste was concrete, bricks and blocks. Analysis from this study can be applied to facilitate C&D waste governors and researchers the duty of formulating precise policies and specifications. As a matter of fact, at least a half of the enormous amount of C&D waste could be recycled if implementing proper recycling technologies and measures. The appropriate managements would be economically and environmentally beneficial to Shanghai where the per capita per year output of C&D waste has been as high as 842 kg in 2010. PMID:25164857

Background More than 30 exposures in the workplace are proven carcinogens. In the present study, we aimed to estimate the burden of occupational cancer in Quebec so as to increase awareness among stakeholders and to prioritize research activities. Methods Work-attributable fractions—that is, the proportions of cancers attributable to work—as published in Finland and the United Kingdom were applied to Quebec 2002–2006 cancer incidence and mortality data to estimate the number of work-related cases for 28 cancer sites. Results Overall, 6.0% of incident cancers (men: 9.1%; women: 2.7%) and 7.6% of cancer deaths (men: 11.8%; women: 2.8%) could be attributable to work, resulting annually in an average of 2160 new cancer diagnoses and 1190 cancer deaths in Quebec. Incident cancers of the lung, prostate, skin, bladder, and (female) breast were the most numerous; cancer sites resulting in more deaths were lung, (female) breast, and pleura. During the same period, compensation statistics reported annual averages of 94.3 incident cancers and 61.9 cancer deaths, mostly involving mesothelioma (64% of compensated incident cancers) and lung cancer (30% of compensated incident cancers). Conclusions Increased recognition of workplace cancers by all stakeholders, from workers and employers to treating physicians, will foster appropriate preventive measures for safer workplaces. PMID:27122983

Estimation of the level of tsunami hazard on the basis of earthquake moment magnitude often fails. The most important reason for this is that tsunamis are related to earthquakes in a complex and ambiguous way. In order to reveal a measure of tsunamigenic potential of an earthquake that would be better than moment magnitude of earthquake we introduce a set of tsunami source parameters that can be calculated from co-seismic ocean-bottom deformation and bathymetry. We consider more than two hundred ocean-bottom earthquakes (1923-2014) those for which detailed slip distribution data (Finite Fault Model) are available on USGS, UCSB, Caltech, and eQuake-RC sites. Making use of the Okada formulae the vector fields of co-seismic deformation of ocean bottom are estimated from the slip distribution data. Taking into account bathymetry (GEBCO_08) we determine tsunami source parameters such as double amplitude of bottom deformation, displaced water volume, potential energy of initial elevation, etc. The tsunami source parameters are examined as a function of earthquake moment magnitude. The contribution of horisontal component of ocean bottom deformation to tsunami generation is investigated. We analyse the Soloviev-Imamura tsunami intensity as a function of tsunami source parameters. The possibility of usage of tsunami source parameters instead of moment magnitude in tsunami warning is discussed. This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project 14-05-31295

Activity-related energy expenditure (AEE) is difficult to quantify, especially under sedentary conditions. Here, a model was developed using the detected type of physical activity (PA) and movement intensity (MI), based on a tri-axial seismic accelerometer (DynaPort MiniMod; McRoberts B.V., The Hague, the Netherlands), with energy expenditure for PA as a reference. The relation between AEE (J/min/kg), MI, and the type of PA was determined for standardized PAs as performed in a laboratory including: lying, sitting, standing, and walking. AEE (J/min/kg) was calculated from total energy expenditure (TEE) and sleeping metabolic rate (SMR) as assessed with indirect calorimetry ((TEEx0.9)-SMR). Subsequently, the model was validated over 23-h intervals in a respiration chamber. Subjects were 15 healthy women (age: 22+/-2 years; BMI: 24.0+/-4.0 kg/m2). Predicted AEE in the chamber was significantly related to measured AEE both within (r2=0.81+/-0.06, P<0.00001) and between (r2=0.70, P<0.001) subjects. The explained variation in AEE by the model was higher than the explained variation by MI alone. This shows that a tri-axial seismic accelerometer is a valid tool for estimating AEE under sedentary conditions. PMID:19282829

The amplification of earthquake seismic waves near the surface can vary significantly spatially due to differences in the thickness of sediments above the bedrock. Normally, the determination of sediment thickness is done by comparing the amplitude of the earthquake waveform recorded on the surface with the waveforms recorded on the sensors located on bedrock or borehole. This method, however, is still difficult to use, especially in Indonesia due to the small number of borehole sensors. As an alternative we propose a method to estimate the relative thickness of sediment in a region. It can be done by calculating the PGA ratio between the waveform recorded on the surface with the one calculated using an empirical formula. We then validate these results using the Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) method.

NASA's IceBridge Project uses a suite of airborne instruments to characterize most of the important variables necessary to understand current ice sheet behavior and to predict future changes in ice sheet volume. Derived geophysical quantities include: ice sheet surface elevation; ice sheet thickness; surface accumulation rate; internal layer stratigraphy; ocean bathymetry; basal geology. At present, internal ice sheet temperature is absent from the parameters list, yet temperature is a primary factor in determining the ease at which ice deforms internally and also the rate at which the ice flows across the base. In this paper, we present calculations to show that radiometry may provide clues to relative and perhaps absolute variations in ice sheet internal temperatures. We assume the Debye dielectric dispersion model driven by temperatures estimated using the Robin model to compute radio frequency loss through the ice. We discretely layer the ice sheet to compute local emission, estimate interference effects and also take into account reflectivity at the surface and the base of the ice sheet. At this stage, we ignore scattering in the firn and we also ignore higher frequency dielectric dispersions along with direct current resistivities. We find some sensitivity between the depth-integrated brightness temperature and average internal temperature depending on the ice thickness and surface accumulation rate. Further, we observe that changing from a frozen to a water based ice sheet alters the measured brightness temperature again to a degree depending on the modeled ice sheet configuration. We go on to present SMOS satellite data acquired over Lake Vostok, Antarctica. The SMOS data suggest a relationship between relatively cool brightness temperatures and the location of the lake. We conclude with comments concerning the practicality and advantage of adding radiometry to the IceBridge instrument suite.

A combined correlation method is introduced to optical coherence elastography for axial displacement estimation. Its performance is compared with that of amplitude correlation tracking and phase shift estimation. Relative sensitivities to small (sub-micron), and large (pixel-scale) axial displacements are analysed for a Perspex test object and gelatine phantom. The combined correlation method exhibited good overall performance, with a larger dynamic range than phase shift estimation and higher sensitivity than amplitude correlation tracking.

Background The Baltic/Wadden Sea eider Somateria mollissima flyway population is decreasing, and this trend is also reflected in the large eider colony at Christiansø situated in the Baltic Sea. This colony showed a 15-fold increase from 1925 until the mid-1990's, followed by a rapid decline in recent years, although the causes of this trend remain unknown. Most birds from the colony winter in the Wadden Sea, from which environmental data and information on the size of the main diet, the mussel Mytilus edulis stock exists. We hypothesised that changes in nutrients and water temperature in the Wadden Sea had an effect on the ecosystem affecting the size of mussel stocks, the principal food item for eiders, thereby influencing the number of breeding eider in the Christiansø colony. Methodology/Principal Finding A positive relationship between the amount of fertilizer used by farmers and the concentration of phosphorus in the Wadden Sea (with a time lag of one year) allowed analysis of the predictions concerning effects of nutrients for the period 1925–2010. There was (1) increasing amounts of fertilizer used in agriculture and this increased the amount of nutrients in the marine environment thereby increasing the mussel stocks in the Wadden Sea. (2) The number of eiders at Christiansø increased when the amount of fertilizer increased. Finally (3) the number of eiders in the colony at Christiansø increased with the amount of mussel stocks in the Wadden Sea. Conclusions/Significance The trend in the number of eiders at Christiansø is representative for the entire flyway population, and since nutrient reduction in the marine environment occurs in most parts of Northwest Europe, we hypothesize that this environmental candidate parameter is involved in the overall regulation of the Baltic/Wadden Sea eider population during recent decades. PMID:24781984

Nonpoint source and point source nutrient loads (N, PO 4-P, COD) to the Ebro River in its central sector were estimated using hydrogeological and socioeconomical data. Their impacts on eutrophication and nutrient dynamics in the river were analyzed through a review of the public administration's historical data and the interpretation of two sampling profiles in September 02 (low flows season) and April 03 (high flows season). A marked seasonality was found in nutrient concentrations, nutrient loads and eutrophication indicators (O 2, Turbidity), appearing symptoms of eutrophication during the summer related to both NPS and PS Nutrient loads within the study area. Agricultural NPS account for 64% of NO 3 loads generated within the study area while urban and industrial PS are responsible of 88% PO 4-P and 71% COD loads. Biological reactions within the river ecosystem (including denitrification in the most eutrophic branches) were found to be a key factor in nutrient content and dynamics. Improvements in urban and industrial wastewater treatment facilities, land use planning and restoration of river-side wetlands, seem to be adequate policies for the improvement of the nutrient water quality in the studied sector of the Ebro River. Flow and temperature seasonality related to Mediterranean fluvial regime imposes significant limitations to nutrient PS in order to accomplish the combined approach proposed in European Water Framework Directive (WFD), based upon Emission Limit Values (ELV) and Environmental Quality Standards (EQS).

All living organisms rely on nutrients to sustain cell metabolism and energy production, which in turn need to be adjusted based on available resources. The evolutionarily conserved target of rapamycin (TOR) protein kinase is a central regulatory hub that connects environmental information about the quantity and quality of nutrients to developmental and metabolic processes in order to maintain cellular homeostasis. TOR is activated by both nitrogen and carbon metabolites and promotes energy-consuming processes such as cell division, mRNA translation, and anabolism in times of abundance while repressing nutrient remobilization through autophagy. In animals and yeasts, TOR acts antagonistically to the starvation-induced AMP-activated kinase (AMPK)/sucrose nonfermenting 1 (Snf1) kinase, called Snf1-related kinase 1 (SnRK1) in plants. This review summarizes the immense knowledge on the relationship between TOR signaling and nutrients in nonphotosynthetic organisms and presents recent findings in plants that illuminate the crucial role of this pathway in conveying nutrient-derived signals and regulating many aspects of metabolism and growth. PMID:26905651

Background: Several observational studies have investigated the relation of dietary phylloquinone and menaquinone intake with occurrence of chronic diseases. Most of these studies relied on food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) to estimate the intake of phylloquinone and menaquinones. However, none of...

It is difficult to assess claims about the adaptive advantages of root foraging strategies without a conceptual model specific enough to allow quantitative prediction and testing. Application of a solute uptake model in combination with a calculation of carbon costs provides a means of assessing the efficiency of carbon expenditures in procuring nutrients from soil. We analyzed the optimal values of root properties, such as longevity, diameter, and mycorrhizal association, that maximized the efficiency of carbon exchange for nutrient uptake in different environments. Optimal longevity was found to decrease with increased soil fertility if the kinetics of nutrient uptake were assumed to decline with increased root longevity. Optimal diameter was found to be smaller than observed in roots, suggesting that other constraints on root structure or function limit their minimum diameter. Mycorrhizal hyphae were found to be more efficient than roots regardless of soil fertility. The steady-state approach to calculating carbon costs and nutrient gain enabled combinations of root and soil properties to be very simply evaluated. However, this approach ignored spatial heterogeneity and temporal variation in root and soil properties, such as aging of roots and patchiness of soil fertility. Furthermore, finding the values of root parameters that maximize root E may not predict the optimal root deployment for the plant, which depends on the relative value of carbon and nutrients in the whole plant. Estimation of the rate of exchange of carbon and nutrients in roots is a necessary step toward an economic analysis of allocation strategies; it also reveals areas of ignorance and helps to identify future research needs.

The advent of low cost scanning devices and the improvement of multi-view stereo techniques have made the acquisition of 3D geometry ubiquitous. Data gathered from different devices, however, result in large variations in detail, scale, and coverage. Registration of such data is essential before visualizing, comparing and archiving them. However, state-of-the-art methods for geometry registration cannot be directly applied due to intrinsic differences between the models, e.g., sampling, scale, noise. In this paper we present a method for the automatic registration of multi-modal geometric data, i.e., acquired by devices with different properties (e.g., resolution, noise, data scaling). The method uses a descriptor based on Growing Least Squares, and is robust to noise, variation in sampling density, details, and enables scale-invariant matching. It allows not only the measurement of the similarity between the geometry surrounding two points, but also the estimation of their relative scale. As it is computed locally, it can be used to analyze large point clouds composed of millions of points. We implemented our approach in two registration procedures (assisted and automatic) and applied them successfully on a number of synthetic and real cases. We show that using our method, multi-modal models can be automatically registered, regardless of their differences in noise, detail, scale, and unknown relative coverage. PMID:26672045

An important factor for determining the prospect of individual wind farm sites is the frequency of extreme winds at hub height. Here, extreme winds are defined as the value of the highest 10 minutes averaged wind speed with a 50 year return period, i.e. annual exceeding probability of 2% (Rodrigo, 2010). A frequently applied method to estimate winds in the lowest few hundred meters above ground is to extrapolate observed 10-meter winds logarithmically to higher altitudes. Recent study by Drechsel et al. (2012) showed however that this methodology is not as accurate as interpolating simulated results from the global ECMWF numerical weather prediction (NWP) model to the desired height. Observations of persistent low level jets near Colima in SW-Mexico also show that the logarithmic approach can give highly inaccurate results for some regions (Arfeuille et al., 2012). To address these shortcomings of limited, and/or poorly representative, observations and extrapolations of winds one can use NWP models to dynamically scale down relatively coarse resolution atmospheric analysis. In the case of limited computing resources one has typically to make a compromise between spatial resolution and the duration of the simulated period, both of which can limit the quality of the wind farm siting. A common method to estimate maximum winds is to fit an extreme value distribution (e.g. Gumbel, gev or Pareto) to the maximum values of each year of available data, or the tail of these values. If data are only available for a short period, e.g. 10 or 15 years, then this will give a rather inaccurate estimate. It is possible to deal with this problem by utilizing monthly or weekly maxima, but this introduces new problems: seasonal variation, autocorrelation of neighboring values, and increased discrepancy between data and fitted distribution. We introduce a new method to estimate return periods of extreme values of winds at hub height from relatively short time series of winds, simulated

In this study, Spanish mothers and fathers (N = 108) estimated their own general and multiple intelligences, as well as those of their children and of their own parents. The mothers' self-estimates of their verbal, logical-mathematical, spatial, and corporal intelligence were lower than the fathers'. The mothers made lower estimates of their…

Stock contribution studies of mixed-stock fisheries rely on the application of classification algorithms to samples of unknown origin. Although the performance of these algorithms can be assessed, there are no guidelines regarding decisions about including minor stocks, pooling stocks into regional groups, or sampling discrete substocks to adequately characterize a stock. We examined these questions for striped bass Morone saxatilis of the U.S. Atlantic coast by applying linear discriminant functions to meristic and morphometric data from fish collected from spawning areas. Some of our samples were from the Hudson and Roanoke rivers and four tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. We also collected fish of mixed-stock origin from the Atlantic Ocean near Montauk, New York. Inclusion of the minor stock from the Roanoke River in the classification algorithm decreased the correct-classification rate, whereas grouping of the Roanoke River and Chesapeake Bay stock into a regional (''southern'') group increased the overall resolution. The increased resolution was offset by our inability to obtain separate contribution estimates of the groups that were pooled. Although multivariate analysis of variance indicated significant differences among Chesapeake Bay substocks, increasing the number of substocks in the discriminant analysis decreased the overall correct-classification rate. Although the inclusion of one, two, three, or four substocks in the classification algorithm did not greatly affect the overall correct-classification rates, the specific combination of substocks significantly affected the relative contribution estimates derived from the mixed-stock sample. Future studies of this kind must balance the costs and benefits of including minor stocks and would profit from examination of the variation in discriminant characters among all Chesapeake Bay substocks.

A tide gauge records a combined signal of the vertical change (positive or negative) in the level of both the sea and the land to which the gauge is affixed; or relative sea-level change, which is typically referred to as relative sea-level rise (RSLR). Complicating this situation, coastal wetlands exhibit dynamic surface elevation change (both positive and negative), as revealed by surface elevation table (SET) measurements, that is not recorded at tide gauges. Because the usefulness of RSLR is in the ability to tie the change in sea level to the local topography, it is important that RSLR be calculated at a wetland that reflects these local dynamic surface elevation changes in order to better estimate wetland submergence potential. A rationale is described for calculating wetland RSLR (RSLRwet) by subtracting the SET wetland elevation change from the tide gauge RSLR. The calculation is possible because the SET and tide gauge independently measure vertical land motion in different portions of the substrate. For 89 wetlands where RSLRwet was evaluated, wetland elevation change differed significantly from zero for 80 % of them, indicating that RSLRwet at these wetlands differed from the local tide gauge RSLR. When compared to tide gauge RSLR, about 39 % of wetlands experienced an elevation rate surplus and 58 % an elevation rate deficit (i.e., sea level becoming lower and higher, respectively, relative to the wetland surface). These proportions were consistent across saltmarsh, mangrove, and freshwater wetland types. Comparison of wetland elevation change and RSLR is confounded by high levels of temporal and spatial variability, and would be improved by co-locating tide gauge and SET stations near each other and obtaining long-term records for both.

Fungal decay of heart wood creates hollows and areas of reduced wood density within the stems of living trees known as stem rot. Although stem rot is acknowledged as a source of error in forest aboveground biomass (AGB) estimates, there are few data sets available to evaluate the controls over stem rot infection and severity in tropical forests. Using legacy and recent data from 3180 drilled, felled, and cored stems in mixed dipterocarp forests in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, we quantified the frequency and severity of stem rot in a total of 339 tree species, and related variation in stem rot with tree size, wood density, taxonomy, and species' soil association, as well as edaphic conditions. Predicted stem rot frequency for a 50 cm tree was 53 % of felled, 39 % of drilled, and 28 % of cored stems, demonstrating differences among methods in rot detection ability. The percent stem volume infected by rot, or stem rot severity, ranged widely among trees with stem rot infection (0.1-82.8 %) and averaged 9 % across all trees felled. Tree taxonomy explained the greatest proportion of variance in both stem rot frequency and severity among the predictors evaluated in our models. Stem rot frequency, but not severity, increased sharply with tree diameter, ranging from 13 % in trees 10-30 cm DBH to 54 % in stems ≥ 50 cm DBH across all data sets. The frequency of stem rot increased significantly in soils with low pH and cation concentrations in topsoil, and stem rot was more common in tree species associated with dystrophic sandy soils than with nutrient-rich clays. When scaled to forest stands, the maximum percent of stem biomass lost to stem rot varied significantly with soil properties, and we estimate that stem rot reduces total forest AGB estimates by up to 7 % relative to what would be predicted assuming all stems are composed strictly of intact wood. This study demonstrates not only that stem rot is likely to be a significant source of error in forest AGB estimation

Transpiration-driven 'mass-flow' of soil-water can increase nutrient flow to the root surface. Here it was investigated whether transpiration could be partially regulated by nutrient status. Seeds of Ehrharta calycina from nine sites across a rainfall gradient were supplied with slow-release fertilizer dibbled into the sand surrounding the roots and directly available through interception, mass-flow and diffusion (dubbed 'interception'), or sequestered behind a 40-microm mesh and not directly accessible by the roots, but from which nutrients could move by diffusion or mass-flow (dubbed 'mass-flow'). Although mass-flow plants were significantly smaller than interception plants as a consequence of nutrient limitation, they transpired 60% faster, had 90% higher photosynthesis relative to transpiration (A/E), and 40% higher tissue P, Ca and Na concentrations than plants allowed to intercept nutrients directly. Tissue N and K concentrations were similar for interception and mass-flow plants. Transpiration was thus higher in the nutrient-constrained 'mass-flow' plants, increasing the transport of nutrients to the roots by mass-flow. Transpiration may have been regulated by N availability, resulting in similar tissue concentration between treatments. It is concluded that, although transpiration is a necessary consequence of photosynthetic CO(2) uptake in C(3) plants, plants can respond to nutrient limitation by varying transpiration-driven mass-flow of nutrients. PMID:18537891

While edge effects on tree water relations are well described for closed forests, they remain under-examined in more open forest types. Similarly, there has been minimal evaluation of the effects of contrasting land uses on the water relations of open forest types in highly fragmented landscapes. We examined edge effects on the water relations and gas exchange of a dominant tree (Eucalyptus arenacea Marginson & Ladiges) in an open forest type (temperate woodland) of south-eastern Australia. Edge effects in replicate woodlands adjoined by cleared agricultural land (pasture edges) were compared with those adjoined by 7- to 9-year-old eucalypt plantation with a 25m fire break (plantation edges). Consistent with studies in closed forest types, edge effects were pronounced at pasture edges where photosynthesis, transpiration and stomatal conductance were greater for edge trees than interior trees (75m into woodlands), and were related to greater light availability and significantly higher branch water potentials at woodland edges than interiors. Nonetheless, gas exchange values were only ∼50% greater for edge than interior trees, compared with ∼200% previously found in closed forest types. In contrast to woodlands adjoined by pasture, gas exchange in winter was significantly lower for edge than interior trees in woodlands adjoined by plantations, consistent with shading and buffering effects of plantations on edge microclimate. Plantation edge effects were less pronounced in summer, although higher water use efficiency of edge than interior woodland trees indicated possible competition for water between plantation trees and woodland edge trees in the drier months (an effect that might have been more pronounced were there no firebreak between the two land uses). Scaling up of leaf-level water relations to stand transpiration using a Jarvis-type phenomenological model indicated similar differences between edge types. That is, transpiration was greater at pasture than

Nutrient concentrations in interstitial water were measured throughout the year in two brackish tidal marshes differing in elevation and vegetation. At all sites, sulfate to chloride ratios were lowest during the fall. In contrast, dissolved ammonia, phosphate, organic nitrogen, and organic phosphorus concentrations did not vary seasonally but differed among sample sites. These nutrients were generally enriched in interstitial water relative to tidal water and those that were most enriched declined in concentration with increasing proximity to creeks. In the low elevation marsh, flow of interstitial water towards creek banks was traced with Rhodamine WT dye. Consequent seepage of interstitial water into the creek of the low marsh was estimated from continuous monitoring of water table heights and from measurements of hydraulic conductivity. The estimated seepage could account for a portion, probably less than half, of the tidal export of dissolved nutrients from the low marsh.

Objective: To present the predominate methods of imputing used to estimatenutrient values for foods in the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR20). Materials and Methods: The USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory developed standard methods for imputing nutrient values for foods wh...

The gastrointestinal mucosa is exposed to numerous chemical substances and microorganisms, including macronutrients, micronutrients, bacteria, endogenous ions, and proteins. The regulation of mucosal protection, digestion, absorption and motility is signaled in part by luminal solutes. Therefore, luminal chemosensing is an important mechanism enabling the mucosa to monitor luminal conditions, such as pH, ion concentrations, nutrient quantity, and microflora. The duodenal mucosa shares luminal nutrient receptors with lingual taste receptors in order to detect the five basic tastes, in addition to essential nutrients, and unwanted chemicals. The recent ‘de-orphanization’ of nutrient sensing G protein-coupled receptors provides an essential component of the mechanism by which the mucosa senses luminal nutrients. In this review, we will update the mechanisms of and underlying physiological and pathological roles in luminal nutrient sensing, with a main focus on the duodenal mucosa. PMID:25113991

Two methodologies are used for describing and estimating influenza-related mortality: Individual-based methods, which use death certification and laboratory diagnosis and predominately determine patterns and risk factors for mortality, and population-based methods, which use statistical and modelling techniques to estimate numbers of premature deaths. The total numbers of deaths generated from the two methods cannot be compared. The former are prone to underestimation, especially when identifying influenza-related deaths in older people. The latter are cruder and have to allow for confounding factors, notably other seasonal infections and climate effects. There is no routine system estimating overall European influenza-related premature mortality, apart from a pilot system EuroMOMO. It is not possible at present to estimate the overall influenza mortality due to the 2009 influenza pandemic in Europe, and the totals based on individual deaths are a minimum estimate. However, the pattern of mortality differed considerably between the 2009 pandemic in Europe and the interpandemic period 1970 to 2008, with pandemic deaths in 2009 occurring in younger and healthier persons. Common methods should be agreed to estimate influenza-related mortality at national level in Europe, and individual surveillance should be instituted for influenza-related deaths in key groups such as pregnant women and children. PMID:22587958

The purpose of this presentation is to show how advanced measurement technologies for determination of the gas and particulate phase distributions of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) can, with appropriate modeling efforts, lead to better understanding of how atmospheric phase distribution impacts exposure persistence or half-life. New data collected in California with both conventional and diffusion-denuder-based samplers are used to (1) assess the direction and magnitude of sampling biases in existing databases of POPs including organochlorines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and (2) compare predictions of persistence and half life using a regional fugacity exposure model (CalTOX). For many POPs, there are data quality problems in measurements of the partitioning between the gas phase and airborne particulate matter, between the gas phase and soils, and between the gas phase and vegetation. Whether intermedia transport takes place in gas or particulate phase can have a strong impact of the estimated persistence of potential human and ecosystem exposure. Most phase distribution measurements use filters followed by adsorbents to determining the relative concentrations of particulate-phase and gas-phase SVOC. In these measurements use filters followed by adsorbents to determining the relative concentrations of particulate-phase and gas-phase SVOC. In these systems, desorption of semi-volatile compounds form the particles on the filters, or adsorption of gases by the filter materials can lead to incorrect measurements of gas- and particulate-phase concentrations. Because the gas phase is collected before the particulate phase, diffusion denuder technology provides a less artifact-encumbered approach for accurate determination of phase distributions of semivolatile species.

The quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) of the zonal wind in the tropical stratosphere is an important process in atmospheric dynamics. Effects of the QBO are found also in the mesosphere and in the extra-tropics. The QBO even has influence on the surface weather and climate, for example during winter in the northern hemisphere at midlatitudes. Still, climate models have large difficulties in reproducing a realistic QBO. The QBO is driven by atmospheric waves. Both global scale waves and mesoscale gravity waves (GWs) contribute. It has been proposed that the driving of the QBO by GWs is more important than that of the global scale waves. The relative importance of GWs is however still highly uncertain, and a direct estimation of the QBO driving by GWs from global observations is still missing. We derive GW temperature variances, GW momentum fluxes and GW drag from three years of High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) and from 11 years of Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) satellite data. These observations are compared with the drag that is still missing in the tropical momentum budget of the ECMWF ERA Interim (ERAI) reanalysis after considering zonal wind tendency, Coriolis force, advection terms and drag of resolved global-scale waves. The meteorological fields of ERAI are quite realistic because ERAI is strongly constrained by data assimilation. Therefore this missing drag can be attributed to GWs not resolved by the model. We find good qualitative agreement between observed GW drag and the missing drag in ERAI. During eastward QBO wind shear even the magnitude of observed and ERAI missing drag are in good agreement. During westward shear, however, observed drag is much lower than the ERAI missing drag. This asymmetry might hint at uncertainties in the advection terms of ERAI. Further, observed GW spectra indicate that QBO-related GW dissipation is mainly due to critical level filtering.

The absorption of water by ambient aerosols can significantly increase the light scattering coefficient and thereby affect issues such as visibility and climate forcing. Although water absorption by inorganic compounds and mixtures of inorganic compounds can often be modeled with adequate certainty for most applications, modeling water uptake by organic aerosols at present is speculative. In this paper, we present data in the form of f (RH)=b scat(RH)/b scat,dry , where bscat(RH) is the scattering coefficient measured at some relative humidity (RH)>20% and bscat,dry is the scattering coefficient measured at RH <20%. The f(RH) has been measured at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. The f(RH) curves obtained from these two sites, which show distinctly different aerosol composition and average RH values, are compared. We also present comparisons between the measured water uptake by ambient aerosol with modeled water uptake by inorganic compounds to estimate the water uptake by organic aerosol.

In the event of an unplanned release of a chemical warfare agent during any stage of the Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program, the potential exists for off-post contamination of drinking water, forage crops, grains, garden produce, and livestock. The more persistent agents, such as the organophosphate nerve agent VX, pose the greatest human health concern for reentry. A relative potency approach comparing the toxicity of VX to organophosphate insecticide analogues is developed and used to estimate allowable residues for VX in agricultural products and reentry intervals for public access to contaminated areas. Analysis of mammalian LD50 data by all exposure routes indicates that VX is 10(3) to 10(4) times more toxic than most commercially available organophosphate insecticides. Thus, allowable residues of VX could be considered at concentration levels 10(3) to 10(4) lower than those established for certain insecticides by the U.S. EPA. Evaluation of reentry intervals developed for these organophosphate analogues indicate that, if environmental monitoring cannot reliably demonstrate acceptable levels of VX, restricted access to suspect or contaminated areas may be on the order of weeks to months following agent release. Planning for relocation, mass care centers, and quarantine should take this time period into account. PMID:1376237

A novel, simple, sensitive and stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed and validated for the quantification of impurities (process related and degradants) and the assay determination of Bendamustine hydrochloride. A chromatographic separation of Bendamustine and its impurities was achieved with an Inertsil ODS-2 analytical column, 250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm, using gradient elution with mobile phase A consisting of a mixture of water and trifluoroacetic acid (1000:1, v/v) and mobile phase B consisting of acetonitrile. The instrumental settings included a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, column temperature of 27°C and a detector wavelength of 233 nm, using a photodiode array detector. The tailing factor for Bendamustine was 1.10. Bendamustine hydrochloride was exposed to thermal, photolytic, hydrolytic and oxidative stress conditions and the stressed samples were analyzed by the proposed method. Peak homogeneity data of Bendamustine were obtained by using a photodiode array detector in the stressed sample chromatograms, which demonstrated the specificity of the method for estimation in the presence of degradants. The developed method was validated for parameters such as precision, accuracy, linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, ruggedness and robustness. The stability tests were also performed on drug substances as per International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. PMID:23825351

In the event of an unplanned release of a chemical warfare agent during any stage of the Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program, the potential exists for off-post contamination of drinking water, forage crops, grains, garden produce, and livestock. The more persistent agents, such as the organophosphate nerve agent VX, pose the greatest human health concern for reentry. A relative potency approach comparing the toxicity of VX to organophosphate insecticide analogues is developed and used to estimate allowable residues for VX in agricultural products and reentry intervals for public access to contaminated areas. Analysis of mammalian LD50 data by all exposure routes indicates that VX is 10(3) to 10(4) times more toxic than most commercially available organophosphate insecticides. Thus, allowable residues of VX could be considered at concentration levels 10(3) to 10(4) lower than those established for certain insecticides by the U.S. EPA. Evaluation of reentry intervals developed for these organophosphate analogues indicate that, if environmental monitoring cannot reliably demonstrate acceptable levels of VX, restricted access to suspect or contaminated areas may be on the order of weeks to months following agent release. Planning for relocation, mass care centers, and quarantine should take this time period into account.

A model was developed which simulates the movement and daily accumulation of nutrients and contaminants in crop plants resulting from known physiological processes in the plant. In the model, the daily contaminant accumulation is governed by daily increase in plant biomass derived from photosynthesis and by the specified thermodynamic activity of the bioavailable contaminant species in soil or hydroponic solutin. Total accumulation and resulting concentration in the plant's root, stem and branch, leaf, and reproductive compartments can be simulated any time during the growing season. Parameters were estimated from data on plutonium accumulation in soybeans and the model was calibrated against this same data set. The plutonium distribution in the plant was found to be most sensitive to parameters related to leaf accumulation. Contamination at different times during the growing season resulted in a large change in predicted leaf accumulation but very little change in predicted accumulation in other plant parts except when contamination occurred very late in the growing season.

Evaluation of phosphorus loads to Lake Erie is in progress for multiple uses in the Lake Erie ECOFORE Program. Emphasis is being placed on phosphorus loadings in 1976, 2005, and 2007 for model calibration and other purposes. This presentation focuses on an overview of temporal ...

It is well established in the hydroclimatic literature that the interannual variability in seasonal streamflow could be partially explained using climatic precursors such as tropical sea surface temperature (SST) conditions. Similarly, it is widely known that streamflow is the most important predictor in estimatingnutrient loadings and the associated concentration. The intent of this study is to bridge these two findings so that nutrient loadings could be predicted using season-ahead climate forecasts forced with forecasted SSTs. By selecting 18 relatively undeveloped basins in the Southeast US (SEUS), we relate winter (January-February-March, JFM) precipitation forecasts that influence the JFM streamflow over the basin to develop winter forecasts of nutrient loadings. For this purpose, we consider two different types of low-dimensional statistical models to predict 3-month ahead nutrient loadings based on retrospective climate forecasts. Split sample validation of the predictive models shows that 18-45% of interannual variability in observed winter nutrient loadings could be predicted even before the beginning of the season for at least 8 stations. Stations that have very high coefficient of determination (> 0.8) in predicting the observed water quality network (WQN) loadings during JFM exhibit significant skill in predicting seasonal total nitrogen (TN) loadings using climate forecasts. Incorporating antecedent flow conditions (December flow) as an additional predictor did not increase the explained variance in these stations, but substantially reduced the root-mean-square error (RMSE) in the predicted loadings. Relating the dominant mode of winter nutrient loadings over 18 stations clearly illustrates the association with El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions. Potential utility of these season-ahead nutrient predictions in developing proactive and adaptive nutrient management strategies is also discussed.

It is well established in the hydroclimatic literature that the interannual variability in seasonal streamflow could be partially explained using climatic precursors such as tropical Sea Surface Temperature (SST) conditions. Similarly, it is widely known that streamflow is the most important predictor in estimatingnutrient loadings and the associated concentration. The intent of this study is to bridge these two findings so that nutrient loadings could be predicted using season-ahead climate forecasts forced with forecasted SSTs. By selecting 18 relatively undeveloped basins in the Southeast US (SEUS), we relate winter (January-February-March, JFM) precipitation forecasts that influence the JFM streamflow over the basin to develop winter forecasts of nutrient loadings. For this purpose, we consider two different types of low-dimensional statistical models to predict 3-month ahead nutrient loadings based on retrospective climate forecasts. Split sample validation of the predictive models shows that 18-45% of interannual variability in observed winter nutrient loadings could be predicted even before the beginning of the season for at least 8 stations. Stations that have very high R2(LOADEST) (>0.8) in predicting the observed WQN loadings during the winter (Table 2) exhibit significant skill in loadings. Incorporating antecedent flow conditions (December flow) as an additional predictor did not increase the explained variance in these stations, but substantially reduced the RMSE in the predicted loadings. Relating the dominant mode of winter nutrient loadings over 18 stations clearly illustrates the association with El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions. Potential utility of these season-ahead nutrient predictions in developing proactive and adaptive nutrient management strategies is also discussed.

Nitrogen concentrations in plant tissues can vary as a function of resource availability. Altered rates of plant growth and development under varying resource availabilities were examined to determine their effects on changes in whole-plant N use efficiency (NUE). Three species of old-field annuals were grown at broadly varying light, nutrient and water levels, and four species at varying atmospheric concentrations of CO2. Study results show highly variable N accrual rates when expressed as a function of plant age or size, but similar patterns of whole-plant N versus non-N biomass accrual over a wide range of environmental conditions. However, severely light-limited plants showed increased N versus biomass accrual for two of three species, and severely nutrient-limited plants had decreased N versus biomass accrual for all species. Whole-plant N accrual versus age and N versus biomass accrual increased under saturating water for two of three species. A marginally significant, modest decrease in N versus biomass accrual was found at high CO2 levels for two of four species. Physiological adjustments in NUE, expressed as N versus biomass accrual, were limited to environments with severely limited or overabundant resources. PMID:17727413

Abstract Foodborne illness estimates help to set food safety priorities and create public health policies. The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates that 4 million episodes of foodborne illness occur each year in Canada due to 30 known pathogens and unspecified agents. The main objective of this study was to estimate the number of domestically acquired foodborne illness–related hospitalizations and deaths. Using the estimates of foodborne illness for Canada along with data from the Canadian Hospitalization Morbidity Database (for years 2000–2010) and relevant international literature, the number of hospitalizations and deaths for 30 pathogens and unspecified agents were calculated. Analysis accounted for under-reporting and underdiagnosis. Estimates of the proportion foodborne and the proportion travel-related were incorporated for each pathogen. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to account for uncertainty generating mean estimates and 90% probability intervals. It is estimated that each year there are 4000 hospitalizations (range 3200–4800) and 105 (range 75–139) deaths associated with domestically acquired foodborne illness related to 30 known pathogens and 7600 (range 5900–9650) hospitalizations and 133 (range 77–192) deaths associated with unspecified agents, for a total estimate of 11,600 (range 9250–14,150) hospitalizations and 238 (range 155–323) deaths associated with domestically acquired foodborne illness in Canada. Key pathogens associated with these hospitalizations or deaths include norovirus, nontyphoidal Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., VTEC O157 and Listeria monocytogenes. This is the first time Canada has established pathogen-specific estimates of domestically acquired foodborne illness–related hospitalizations and deaths. This information illustrates the substantial burden of foodborne illness in Canada. PMID:26259128

This paper presents a methodology based on the use of active remote sensing techniques for the estimation of ice nuclei concentrations (INC) for desert dust plumes. Although this method can be applied to other aerosol components, in this study we focus on desert dust. The method makes use of the polarization lidar technique for the separation of dust and non-dust contributions to the particle backscatter and extinction coefficients. The profile of the dust extinction coefficient is converted to APC280 (dust particles with radius larger than 280 nm) and, in a second step, APC280 is converted to INC by means of an APC-INC relationship from the literature. The observed close relationship between dust extinction at 500 nm and APC280 is the key to a successful INC retrieval. The correlation between dust extinction coefficient and APC280 is studied by means of AERONET sun/sky photometer at Morocco, Cape Verde, Barbados, and Cyprus, during situations dominated by desert dust outbreaks. In the present study, polarization lidar observations of the EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network) lidar at the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), Limassol (34.7o N, 33o E), Cyprus were used together with spaceborne lidar observations during CALIPSO satellite overpasses to demonstrate the potential of the new INC retrieval method. A good agreement between the CALIOP (Cloud Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) and our CUT lidar observations regarding the retrieval of dust extinction coefficient, APC280, and INC profiles were found and corroborate the potential of CALIOP to provide 3-D global desert-dust-related INC data sets. In the next step, efforts should be undertaken towards the establishment of a global, height-resolved INC climatology for desert dust plumes. Realistic global INC distributions are required for an improved estimation of aerosol effects on cloud formation and the better quantification of the indirect aerosol effect on climate. Acknowledgements

We describe a framework for estimating the human dose at which a chemical significantly alters a biological pathway in vivo, making use of in vitro assay data and an in vitro derived pharmacokinetic model, coupled with estimates of population variability and uncertainty. The q...

Previous research has examined heuristics--simplified decision-making rules-of-thumb--for geospatial reasoning. This study examined at two locations the influence of beliefs about local coastline orientation on estimated directions to local and distant places; estimates were made immediately or after fifteen seconds. This study goes beyond…

Water quality is a critical environmental, social, and political issue in Delaware. In the late 1990s, a series of events related to water quality issues led to the passage of a state nutrient management law. This new law required nutrient management planning and established a state certification program for nutrient users in the agricultural and…

The report summarizes the estimatedrelative susceptibility and estimated status of 23 estuaries in the Gulf of Mexico with respect to nutrient-related pollution. It is the second of a series of reports being developed to assist the U.S. EPA implement its Near Coastal Waters Program and National Estuary Program. The report is intended to increase understanding of coastal environmental problems and to serve as a tool for coastal resource decision-making.

Period analysis is increasingly employed in analyses of long-term survival of patients with chronic diseases such as cancer, as it derives more up-to-date survival estimates than traditional cohort based approaches. It has recently been extended with regression modelling using generalized linear models, which increases the precision of the survival estimates and enables to assess and account for effects of additional covariates. This paper provides a detailed presentation how model based period analysis may be used to derive population-based absolute and relative survival estimates using the freely available R language and statistical environment and already available R programs for period analysis. After an introduction of the underlying regression model and a description of the software tools we provide a step-by-step implementation of two regression models in R and illustrate how estimates and a test for trend over time in relative survival may be derived using data from a population based cancer registry. PMID:23116692

The term nutrient sensing has emerged to describe the molecular mechanisms by which nutrients and their metabolites interact with various cell surface receptors, intracellular signaling proteins, and nuclear receptors, and modulate the activity of a complex network of signaling pathways that regulat...

The historical rise of atmospheric CO2 to over 400 ppmv amplifies the need to better understand natural systems during past warmer interglacials. This change over the past 150 years approximates the CO2 range of full glacial-interglacial cycles. Resulting future global impacts are likely, and accurate geological field data would help us better understand the past behavior of sea level (SL) and ice sheets. The middle Pliocene warm period (MPWP) offers an approximate analogue for a 400-ppmv world. Before PLIOMAX (www.pliomax.org), only a handful of estimates of relative sea levels (RSL) along with considerable uncertainties were available for the MPWP. Precise elevations of Plio-Pleistocene RSL indicators were measured with decimeter accuracy using an OmniStar dGPS at sites in Australia, South Africa, Argentina, and other seemingly stable locations. High-resolution SL indicators include wave abrasion surfaces, sub- and intertidal sedimentary structures, and in situ marine invertebrates such as shallow water oysters and barnacles. In addition, thousands of km of terraced coastline was surveyed with dGPS between study sites. The coastal geomorphic expression of Pliocene SL is profound. From ~5 to 3 Ma, high frequency orbitally-paced, low amplitude SL oscillations acted as a shoreline "buzz saw" on hard bedrock, forming extensive high terraces. In high sediment environments such as that of the southeast US Atlantic Coastal Plain, relatively stable Pliocene ocean levels trapped huge volumes of fluvial sediments in the coastal zone, resulting in broad sandy terraces and extensive dune fields. However, glacio-isostatic adjustment (GIA), dynamic topography (DT), and other post-depositional processes have warped these marine terraces by tens of meters since the Pliocene (Raymo et al. 2011, Rovere et al 2014). The PLIOMAX team has documented precise RSLs from numerous global sites that clearly indicate that global ice volume was significantly reduced during intervals of the

In Brazil, the degradation of nutrient-poor Ferralsols limits productivity and drives agricultural expansion into pristine areas. However, returning agricultural residues to the soil in a stabilized form may offer opportunities for maintaining or improving soil quality, even under conditions that typically promote carbon loss. We examined the use of biochar made from filtercake (a byproduct of sugarcane processing) on the physicochemical properties of a cultivated tropical soil. Filtercake was pyrolyzed at 575°C for 3 h yielding a biochar with increased surface area and porosity compared to the raw filtercake. Filtercake biochar was primarily composed of aromatic carbon, with some residual cellulose and hemicellulose. In a three-week laboratory incubation, CO2 effluxes from a highly weathered Ferralsol soil amended with 5% biochar (dry weight, d.w.) were roughly four-fold higher than the soil-only control, but 23-fold lower than CO2 effluxes from soil amended with 5% (d.w.) raw filtercake. We also applied vinasse, a carbon-rich liquid waste from bioethanol production typically utilized as a fertilizer on sugarcane soils, to filtercake- and biochar-amended soils. Total CO2 efflux from the biochar-amended soil in response to vinasse application was only 5% of the efflux when vinasse was applied to soil amended with raw filtercake. Furthermore, mixtures of 5 or 10% biochar (d.w.) in this highly weathered tropical soil significantly increased water retention within the plant-available range and also improved nutrient availability. Accordingly, application of sugarcane filtercake as biochar, with or without vinasse application, may better satisfy soil management objectives than filtercake applied to soils in its raw form, and may help to build soil carbon stocks in sugarcane-cultivating regions. PMID:24897522

In Brazil, the degradation of nutrient-poor Ferralsols limits productivity and drives agricultural expansion into pristine areas. However, returning agricultural residues to the soil in a stabilized form may offer opportunities for maintaining or improving soil quality, even under conditions that typically promote carbon loss. We examined the use of biochar made from filtercake (a byproduct of sugarcane processing) on the physicochemical properties of a cultivated tropical soil. Filtercake was pyrolyzed at 575°C for 3 h yielding a biochar with increased surface area and porosity compared to the raw filtercake. Filtercake biochar was primarily composed of aromatic carbon, with some residual cellulose and hemicellulose. In a three-week laboratory incubation, CO2 effluxes from a highly weathered Ferralsol soil amended with 5% biochar (dry weight, d.w.) were roughly four-fold higher than the soil-only control, but 23-fold lower than CO2 effluxes from soil amended with 5% (d.w.) raw filtercake. We also applied vinasse, a carbon-rich liquid waste from bioethanol production typically utilized as a fertilizer on sugarcane soils, to filtercake- and biochar-amended soils. Total CO2 efflux from the biochar-amended soil in response to vinasse application was only 5% of the efflux when vinasse was applied to soil amended with raw filtercake. Furthermore, mixtures of 5 or 10% biochar (d.w.) in this highly weathered tropical soil significantly increased water retention within the plant-available range and also improved nutrient availability. Accordingly, application of sugarcane filtercake as biochar, with or without vinasse application, may better satisfy soil management objectives than filtercake applied to soils in its raw form, and may help to build soil carbon stocks in sugarcane-cultivating regions. PMID:24897522

Nutrients have been hypothesized to influence the distribution of the savanna biome through two possible mechanisms. Low nutrient availability may restrict growth rates of trees, thereby allowing for intermittent fires to maintain low tree cover; alternatively, nutrient deficiency may even place an absolute constraint on the ability of forests to form, independent of fire. However, we have little understanding of the scales at which nutrient limitation operates, what nutrients are limiting, and the mechanisms that influence how nutrient limitation regulates savanna-forest transitions. Here, I review literature, synthesize existing data, and present a simple calculation of nutrient demand to evaluate how nutrient limitation may regulate the distribution of the savanna biome. The literature primarily supports the hypothesis that nutrients may interact dynamically with fire to restrict the transition of savanna into forest. A compilation of indirect metrics of nutrient limitation suggest that nitrogen and phosphorus are both in short supply and may limit plants. Nutrient demand calculations provided a number of insights. First, trees required high rates of nitrogen and phosphorus supply relative to empirically determined inputs. Second, nutrient demand increased as landscapes approached the transition point between savanna and forest. Third, the potential for fire-driven nutrient losses remained high throughout transitions, which may exaggerate limitation and could be a key feedback stabilizing the savanna biome. Fourth, nutrient limitation varied between functional groups, with fast-growing forest species having substantially greater nutrient demand and a higher susceptibility to fire-driven nutrient losses. Finally, African savanna trees required substantially larger amounts of nutrients supplied at greater rates, although this varied across plant functional groups. In summary, the ability of nutrients to control transitions emerges at individual and landscape

This study compiles estimates of waterborne nutrient concentrations and loads in the Sava River Catchment (SRC). Based on this compilation, we investigate hotspots of nutrient inputs and retention along the river, as well as concentration and load correlations with river discharge and various human drivers of excess nutrient inputs to the SRC. For cross-regional assessment and possible generalization, we also compare corresponding results between the SRC and the Baltic Sea Drainage Basin (BSDB). In the SRC, one small incremental subcatchment, which is located just downstream of Zagreb and has the highest population density among the SRC subcatchments, is identified as a major hotspot for net loading (input minus retention) of both total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) to the river and through it to downstream areas of the SRC. The other SRC subcatchments exhibit relatively similar characteristics with smaller net nutrient loading. The annual loads of both TN and TP along the Sava River exhibit dominant temporal variability with considerably higher correlation with annual river discharge (R2 = 0.51 and 0.28, respectively) than that of annual average nutrient concentrations (R2 = 0.0 versus discharge for both TN and TP). Nutrient concentrations exhibit instead dominant spatial variability with relatively high correlation with population density among the SRC subcatchments (R2=0.43-0.64). These SRC correlation characteristics compare well with corresponding ones for the BSDB, even though the two regions are quite different in their hydroclimatic, agricultural and wastewater treatment conditions. Such cross-regional consistency in dominant variability type and explanatory catchment characteristics may be a useful generalization basis, worthy of further investigation, for at least first-order estimation of nutrient concentration and load conditions in less data-rich regions.

The difference ΔF between free energies has applications in biology, chemistry, and pharmacology. The value of ΔF can be estimated from experiments or simulations, via fluctuation theorems developed in statistical mechanics. Calculating the error in a ΔF estimate is difficult. Worse, atypical trials dominate estimates. How many trials one should perform was estimated roughly by Jarzynski [Phys. Rev. E 73, 046105 (2006)PLEEE81539-375510.1103/PhysRevE.73.046105]. We enhance the approximation with the following information-theoretic strategies. We quantify "dominance" with a tolerance parameter chosen by the experimenter or simulator. We bound the number of trials one should expect to perform, using the order-∞ Rényi entropy. The bound can be estimated if one implements the "good practice" of bidirectionality, known to improve estimates of ΔF. Estimating ΔF from this number of trials leads to an error that we bound approximately. Numerical experiments on a weakly interacting dilute classical gas support our analytical calculations. PMID:27300866

We developed two weight-length models from 231 populations of larval sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) collected from tributaries of the Great Lakes: Lake Ontario (21), Lake Erie (6), Lake Huron (67), Lake Michigan (76), and Lake Superior (61). Both models were mixed models, which used population as a random effect and additional environmental factors as fixed effects. We resampled weights and lengths 1,000 times from data collected In each of 14 other populations not used to develop the models, obtaining a weight and length distribution from reach resampling. To test model performance, we applied the two weight-length models to the resampled length distributions and calculated the predicted mean weights. We also calculated the observed mean weight for each resampling and for each of the original 14 data sets. When the average of predicted means was compared to means from the original data in each stream, inclusion of environmental factors did not consistently improve the performance of the weight-length model. We estimated the variance associated with measures of abundance and mean weight for each of the 14 selected populations and determined that a conservative estimate of the proportional contribution to variance associated with estimating abundance accounted for 32% to 95% of the variance (mean = 66%). Variability in the biomass estimate appears more affected by variability in estimating abundance than in converting length to weight. Hence, efforts to improve the precision of biomass estimates would be aided most by reducing the variability associated with estimating abundance.

The difference Δ F between free energies has applications in biology, chemistry, and pharmacology. The value of Δ F can be estimated from experiments or simulations, via fluctuation theorems developed in statistical mechanics. Calculating the error in a Δ F estimate is difficult. Worse, atypical trials dominate estimates. How many trials one should perform was estimated roughly by Jarzynski [Phys. Rev. E 73, 046105 (2006), 10.1103/PhysRevE.73.046105]. We enhance the approximation with the following information-theoretic strategies. We quantify "dominance" with a tolerance parameter chosen by the experimenter or simulator. We bound the number of trials one should expect to perform, using the order-∞ Rényi entropy. The bound can be estimated if one implements the "good practice" of bidirectionality, known to improve estimates of Δ F . Estimating Δ F from this number of trials leads to an error that we bound approximately. Numerical experiments on a weakly interacting dilute classical gas support our analytical calculations.

We developed two weight-length models from 231 populations of larval sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) collected from tributaries of the Great Lakes: Lake Ontario (21), Lake Erie (6), Lake Huron (67), Lake Michigan (76), and Lake Superior (61). Both models were mixed models, which used population as a random effect and additional environmental factors as fixed effects. We resampled weights and lengths 1,000 times from data collected in each of 14 other populations not used to develop the models, obtaining a weight and length distribution from reach resampling. To test model performance, we applied the two weight-length models to the resampled length distributions and calculated the predicted mean weights. We also calculated the observed mean weight for each resampling and for each of the original 14 data sets. When the average of predicted means was compared to means from the original data in each stream, inclusion of environmental factors did not consistently improve the performance of the weight-length model. We estimated the variance associated with measures of abundance and mean weight for each of the 14 selected populations and determined that a conservative estimate of the proportional contribution to variance associated with estimating abundance accounted for 32% to 95% of the variance (mean = 66%). Variability in the biomass estimate appears more affected by variability in estimating abundance than in converting length to weight. Hence, efforts to improve the precision of biomass estimates would be aided most by reducing the variability associated with estimating abundance.

Bacterial abundance results from predatory losses of individuals and replacement of losses through growth. Growth depends on sustained input of organic substrates and mineral nutrients. In this work we tested the hypothesis that bacterial growth in two oligotrophic Canadian shield lakes was limited by nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P). We also determined whether consumer-regenerated resources contributed substantially to net bacterial growth. Two types of dilution assays were conducted to determine the response of bacteria to nutrient enrichment: diluted whole water (DWW, 1:9 whole/filtered with 0.2 μm of filtered lake water) and diluted fractionated water (DFW, 1.0 μm prefiltered then diluted as above). Replicate bottles in each dilution assay received either N (50 μM), P (10 μM), or both N and P enrichments. Controls received no nutrients. Resource-saturated growth rates and grazing rates were estimated from a standard dilution-growth approach. Bacterial growth was stimulated by addition of P alone and in combination with N. Consumers regenerated sufficient resources to support up to half the bacterial growth rate, but the benefit derived from consumers was minor when compared to mortality. PMID:24185342

Microbial activity is a fundamental component of oceanic nutrient cycles. Photosynthetic microbes, collectively termed phytoplankton, are responsible for the vast majority of primary production in marine waters. The availability of nutrients in the upper ocean frequently limits the activity and abundance of these organisms. Experimental data have revealed two broad regimes of phytoplankton nutrient limitation in the modern upper ocean. Nitrogen availability tends to limit productivity throughout much of the surface low-latitude ocean, where the supply of nutrients from the subsurface is relatively slow. In contrast, iron often limits productivity where subsurface nutrient supply is enhanced, including within the main oceanic upwelling regions of the Southern Ocean and the eastern equatorial Pacific. Phosphorus, vitamins and micronutrients other than iron may also (co-)limit marine phytoplankton. The spatial patterns and importance of co-limitation, however, remain unclear. Variability in the stoichiometries of nutrient supply and biological demand are key determinants of oceanic nutrient limitation. Deciphering the mechanisms that underpin this variability, and the consequences for marine microbes, will be a challenge. But such knowledge will be crucial for accurately predicting the consequences of ongoing anthropogenic perturbations to oceanic nutrient biogeochemistry.

The main purpose of the present meta-analysis was to examine the criterion-related validity of the 20-m shuttle run test for estimating cardiorespiratory fitness. Relevant studies were searched from twelve electronic databases up to December 2014, as well as from several alternative modes of searching. The Hunter-Schmidt’s psychometric meta-analysis approach was conducted to estimate the population criterion-related validity of the 20-m shuttle run test. From 57 studies that were included in the present meta-analysis, a total of 78 correlation values were analyzed. The overall results showed that the performance score of the 20-m shuttle run test had a moderate-to-high criterion-related validity for estimating maximum oxygen uptake (rp = 0.66-0.84), being higher when other variables (e.g. sex, age or body mass) were used (rp = 0.78-0.95). The present meta-analysis also showed that the criterion-related validity of Léger’s protocol was statistically higher for adults (rp = 0.94, 0.87-1.00) than for children (rp = 0.78, 0.72-0.85). However, sex and maximum oxygen uptake level do not seem to affect the criterion-related validity values. When an individual’s maximum oxygen uptake attained during a laboratory-based test is not feasible, the 20-m shuttle run test seems to be a useful alternative for estimating cardiorespiratory fitness. In adults the performance score only seems to be a strong estimator of cardiorespiratory fitness, in contrast among children the performance score should be combined with other variables. Nevertheless, as in the application of any physical fitness field test, evaluators must be aware that the performance score of the 20-m shuttle run test is simply an estimation and not a direct measure of cardiorespiratory fitness. Key points Overall the 20-m shuttle run test has a moderate-to-high mean criterion-related validity for estimating cardiorespiratory fitness. The criterion-related validity of the 20-m shuttle run test is significantly

Nutrients and freshwater delivered by the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers drive algal production in the northern Gulf of Mexico, which eventually results in the widespread occurrence of hypoxic bottom waters along the Louisiana and Texas coast. Researchers have demonstrated a relation between the extent of the hypoxic zone and the magnitude of streamflow, nutrient fluxes, and nutrient concentrations in the Mississippi River, with springtime streamflows and fluxes being the most predictive. In 1999 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated the flux of nitrogen, phosphorus, and silica at selected sites in the Mississippi Basin and to the Gulf of Mexico for 1980-1996. These flux estimates provided the baseline information used by the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force to develop an Action Plan for reducing hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The primary goal of the Action Plan was to achieve a reduction in the size (areal extent) of the hypoxic zone from an average of approximately 14,000 square kilometers in 1996-2000 to a 5-year moving average of less than 5,000 square kilometers by 2015. Improved statistical models and adjusted maximum likelihood estimation using USGS Load Estimator (LOADEST) software were used to estimate annual and seasonal nutrient fluxes for 1980-2007 at selected sites on the Mississippi River and its tributaries. These data provide a means to evaluate the influence of natural and anthropogenic effects on delivery of water and nutrients to the Gulf of Mexico; to define subbasins that are the most important contributors of nutrients to the gulf; and to investigate the relations among streamflow, nutrient fluxes, and the size and duration of the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone. A comparative analysis between the baseline period of 1980-1996 and 5-year moving averages thereafter indicate that the average annual streamflow and fluxes of total nitrogen, nitrate, orthophosphate, and silica to the Gulf of Mexico have

The watershed model SPARROW (Spatially Referenced Regressions on Watershed attributes) was used to estimate mean annual surface-water nutrient conditions (total nitrogen and total phosphorus) and to identify important nutrient sources in catchments of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States for 2002. Model-estimatednutrient yields were generally higher in catchments on the wetter, western side of the Cascade Range than in catchments on the drier, eastern side. The largest source of locally generated total nitrogen stream load in most catchments was runoff from forestland, whereas the largest source of locally generated total phosphorus stream load in most catchments was either geologic material or livestock manure (primarily from grazing livestock). However, the highest total nitrogen and total phosphorus yields were predicted in the relatively small number of catchments where urban sources were the largest contributor to local stream load. Two examples are presented that show how SPARROW results can be applied to large rivers—the relative contribution of different nutrient sources to the total nitrogen load in the Willamette River and the total phosphorus load in the Snake River. The results from this study provided an understanding of the regional patterns in surface-water nutrient conditions and should be useful to researchers and water-quality managers performing local nutrient assessments.

Cadmium distribution and bioaccumulation were examined over a 2-year period (1991--1992) in two nutrient-enriched and two control littoral enclosures and in the littoral zone in Lake 382 (L382). Lake 382, a small oligotrophic lake, is located within the Experimental Lakes Area in northwestern Ontario, Canada, and received experimental Cd additions from 1987 to 1992. In the second year of this study, chlorophyll a and suspended C concentrations in the nutrient-enriched enclosures increased by 6.6 and 3.4 times, respectively, compared to the controls. As a result of increased particulate produced by the nutrient additions, Cd concentrations in water from the nutrient-enriched enclosures were higher compared to the controls. Estimated Cd/C concentrations in water were lower in the nutrient-enriched enclosures relative to the controls because of higher particle concentrations. Effects on Cd bioaccumulation were limited even though mesotrophic to eutrophic conditions were reached in the nutrient-enriched enclosures had consistently higher Cd concentrations compared to the controls, but significant differences were not detected. Enhanced accumulation of Cd-rich particulate matter by these organisms may account for this trend. Mussels and crayfish accumulated significantly more Cd when exposed in the lake compared to the enclosures. This observation is due to elevated Cd water concentrations in the lake compared to the enclosures because of continued Cd additions to the lake. These results suggest that the water route of exposure is an important pathway for Cd accumulation by these organisms.

Fishes can play important functional roles in the nutrient dynamics of freshwater systems. Aggregating fishes have the potential to generate areas of increased biogeochemical activity, or hotspots, in streams and rivers. Many of the studies documenting the functional role of fishes in nutrient dynamics have focused on native fish species; however, introduced fishes may restructure nutrient storage and cycling freshwater systems as they can attain high population densities in novel environments. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a non-native catfish (Loricariidae: Pterygoplichthys) on nitrogen and phosphorus remineralization and estimate whether large aggregations of these fish generate measurable biogeochemical hotspots within nutrient-limited ecosystems. Loricariids formed large aggregations during daylight hours and dispersed throughout the stream during evening hours to graze benthic habitats. Excretion rates of phosphorus were twice as great during nighttime hours when fishes were actively feeding; however, there was no diel pattern in nitrogen excretion rates. Our results indicate that spatially heterogeneous aggregations of loricariids can significantly elevate dissolved nutrient concentrations via excretion relative to ambient nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations during daylight hours, creating biogeochemical hotspots and potentially altering nutrient dynamics in invaded systems. PMID:23342083

Objective Asthma Call-back Survey methodology has been changed recently, as a new sampling design, weights calculation (2011–2012), and revised work-related asthma (WRA) section (2012) were implemented. To assess the effect of these changes on the WRA and possible WRA estimates among ever-employed adults with current asthma, we analyzed 2007– 2012 data for 37 505 ever-employed adults (≥18 years) collected from 19 US states (representing an estimated 10 million adults each year). Methods Using data from landline telephone (LLP) households, we calculated estimates applying poststratification weights (2007– 2010) and “raking” weights (2011–2012). Also, using data from LLP/cellular telephone (CP) households combined, we calculated estimates applying “raking” weights (2012). Results Based on LLP household data, the WRA estimates ranged from 7.8% to 9.7% during 2007–2010, was 9.1% in 2011 and 15.4% in 2012. Possible WRA estimates ranged from 35.1% to 38.1% during 2007–2010, was 38.1% in 2011 and 39.8% in 2012. Using the 2012 LLP/CP household data, the WRA and possible WRA estimates were 15.4% and 38.9%, respectively. Conclusions Implementation of “raking” weights did not substantially change the WRA or possible WRA estimates among ever-employed adults with current asthma. The WRA and possible WRA estimates based on LLP and LLP/CP samples in 2012 were comparable, as CP users are younger and less likely to have WRA. The substantial upward shift in the 2012 WRA estimates likely was associated with the revision to the WRA section. PMID:26865467

Concentrations and loading estimates for nutrients, suspended sediment, and E. coli bacteria were summarized for three water-quality monitoring stations on the Anacostia River in Maryland and one station on Rock Creek in Washington, D.C. Both streams are tributaries to the Potomac River in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and contribute to the Chesapeake Bay estuary. Two stations on the Anacostia River, Northeast Branch at Riverdale, Maryland and Northwest Branch near Hyattsville, Maryland, have been monitored for water quality during the study period from 2003 to 2011 and are located near the shift from nontidal to tidal conditions near Bladensburg, Maryland. A station on Paint Branch is nested above the station on the Northeast Branch Anacostia River, and has slightly less developed land cover than the Northeast and Northwest Branch stations. The Rock Creek station is located in Rock Creek Park, but the land cover in the watershed surrounding the park is urbanized. Stepwise log-linear regression models were developed to estimate the concentrations of suspended sediment, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and E. coli bacteria from continuous field monitors. Turbidity was the strongest predictor variable for all water-quality parameters. For bacteria, water temperature improved the models enough to be included as a second predictor variable due to the strong dependence of stream metabolism on temperature. Coefficients of determination (R2) for the models were highest for log concentrations of suspended sediment (0.9) and total phosphorus (0.8 to 0.9), followed by E. coli bacteria (0.75 to 0.8), and total nitrogen (0.6). Water-quality data provided baselines for conditions prior to accelerated implementation of multiple stormwater controls in the watersheds. Counties are currently in the process of enhancing stormwater controls in both watersheds. Annual yields were estimated for suspended sediment, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and E. coli bacteria using

Methods are presented to estimate peak-frequency relations, flood hydrographs, and volume-duration-frequency relations of urban streams in Ohio with drainage areas less than 6.5 square miles. The methods were developed to assist planners in the design of hydraulic structures for which hydrograph routing is required or where the temporary storage of water is an important element of the design criteria. Examples of how to use the methods also are presented. The data base for the analyses consisted of 5-minute rainfall-runoff data collected for a period of 5 to 8 years at 62 small drainage basins distributed throughout Ohio. The U.S. Geological Survey rainfall-runoff model A634 was used and was calibrated for each site. The calibrayed models were used in conjunction with long-term (66-87 years) rainfall and evaporation records to synthesize a long-term series of flood-hydrograph records at each site. A method was developed and used to increase the variance of the synthetic flood characterictics in order to make them more representative of observed flood characteristics. Multiple-regression equations were developed to estimate peak discharges having recurrence intervals of 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 years. The explanatory variables in the peak-discharge equations are drainage area, average annual precipitation, and basin development factor. Average standard errors of prediction for the peak-frequency equations range from ? 34 to ? 40 percent. A method is presented to estimate flood hydrographs by applying a specific peak discharge and basin lagtime to a dimensionless hydrograph. An equation was developed to estimate basin lagtime in which main-channel length divided by the square root of the main-channel slope (L/SL) and basin-development factor are the explanatory variables and the average standard error of prediction is ? 53 percent. A dimensional hydrograph originally developed by the U.S. Geological Survey for use in Georgia was verified for use in urban areas of

The world's first micro-spacecraft, "Proximate Object Close flYby with Optical Navigation" (PROCYON) has the advanced mission to approach an asteroid in dozen km (a one-order closer imaging distance compared with previous probes). In such a close distance encounter, the estimation of the relative trajectory of the target is necessary to perform autonomous imaging. However, the estimation is difficult owing to rapid changes of the line-of-sight direction of the target body. To overcome this problem, a novel dimensionless or direction only relative trajectory estimation algorithm, which uses a least square method, is proposed. The evaluation function for the least square method coincides with the error property of picture information to enable all of its calculations to be recursive and linear. It is suited for the implementation on the limited on-board computer. Numerical simulation results indicate that the proposed algorithm should enable the one-order closer flyby observation.

Nutrient distributions (nitrate, ammonia, phosphate and silicate) have been determined in the surface waters of nine North Sea estuaries: Tweed, Forth, Tay, Dee, Don, Ythan, Beauly/Inverness Firth, Cromarty Firth and Dornoch Firth. Seasonal variability has been examined by conducting surveys in April, July and September 1991 and February 1992. On each occasion, surveys of all nine estuaries were normally completed in 3-5 days of each other, around high water on spring tides. This intensive and strictly controlled sampling regime ensures a realistic comparison between nutrient concentrations in individual estuaries. Nutrient concentrations in individual rivers and estuaries are demonstrated to be related to land use. River catchments with intensive agriculture and low freshwater input, such as the Don and Ythan, have enhanced nitrate (up to 600 μM) and phosphate (up to 5 μM) concentrations in their estuaries. By contrast, Highland river catchments with mineral-poor soils, low populations and low agricultural intensity (Inverness, Cromarty and Dornoch Firths) generally lead to nutrient concentrations being lower in river water than in coastal seawater. Conservative mixing of dissolved nutrients is demonstrated to be a function of estuarine flushing time which controls the extent to which internal processes (biological and abiological) can modify nutrient inputs. Nutrients tend to behave conservatively in short rapidly flushed estuaries such as the Tweed, Don and Ythan. In contrast, internal processes are shown to be important when estimating riverine nutrient fluxes to the coastal zone from large slowly flushed estuaries such as the Forth, Tay and Dornoch Firth. For these systems, estimates of riverine inputs to the estuary do not provide a good estimate of the load entering the coastal zone. This is primarily due to the cycling of nutrient elements between dissolved and particulate (including sediment) phases. On a regional basis, gross nutrient inputs are

This study estimates the annual numbers of eight work-related cancers, total losses of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and lifetime healthcare expenditures that possibly could be saved by improving occupational health in Taiwan. Three databases were interlinked: the Taiwan Cancer Registry, the National Mortality Registry, and the National Health Insurance Research Database. Annual numbers of work-related cancers were estimated based on attributable fractions (AFs) abstracted from a literature review. The survival functions for eight cancers were estimated and extrapolated to lifetime using a semi-parametric method. A convenience sample of 8846 measurements of patients' quality of life with EQ-5D was collected for utility values and multiplied by survival functions to estimate quality-adjusted life expectancies (QALEs). The loss-of-QALE was obtained by subtracting the QALE of cancer from age- and sex-matched referents simulated from national vital statistics. The lifetime healthcare expenditures were estimated by multiplying the survival probability with mean monthly costs paid by the National Health Insurance for cancer diagnosis and treatment and summing this for the expected lifetime. A total of 3010 males and 726 females with eight work-related cancers were estimated in 2010. Among them, lung cancer ranked first in terms of QALY loss, with an annual total loss-of-QALE of 28,463 QALYs and total lifetime healthcare expenditures of US$36.6 million. Successful prevention of eight work-related cancers would not only avoid the occurrence of 3736 cases of cancer, but would also save more than US$70 million in healthcare costs and 46,750 QALYs for the Taiwan society in 2010. PMID:27413666

To enable an accurate estimate of total excess nitrogen (N) in the North Atlantic a new tracer, TNxs, is defined which includes the contribution of organic nutrients to the assessment of N:P stoichiometric anomalies. We estimate the spatial distribution of TNxs within the North Atlantic using data from a trans-Atlantic section across 24.5° N conducted in 2004. We then employ three different approaches to infer rates of total excess nitrogen accumulation using pCFC-12 derived ventilation ages (a TNxs vertical integration, a one end-member and a two-end member mixing model). Despite some variability among the different methods the dissolved organic nutrient fraction always contributes to about half of the TNxs accumulation, which is in the order of 9.38±4.18×1011 mol N y-1. Here we suggest that neglecting organic nutrients in stoichiometric balances of the marine N and P inventories can lead to systematic errors when estimating a nitrogen excess or deficit relative to the Redfield ratio in the oceans. For the North Atlantic the inclusion of the organic fraction leads to an upward revision of the N supply by N2 fixation to 10.2±6.9×1011 mol N y-1. This enhanced estimate of nitrogen fixation reconciles the geochemical estimates of N2 fixation derived from excess nitrate and the direct estimates from N2 fixation measurements.

The study examines the relation between subjectively assessed adult playfulness and psychometric and self-estimated intelligence in a sample of 254 students. As expected, playfulness existed widely independently from psychometric intelligence. Correlations pointed in the direction of higher expressive playfulness and numeric intelligence and lower…

We used a large sample of singleton children to estimate the effects of socioeconomic status (SES), race/ethnicity, gender, additional socio-demographics, gestational and birth factors, and parenting on children's risk for learning-related behavior problems at 24 months of age. We investigated to what extent these factors increased a child's risk…

In order to re-establish the Maximum Magnitude Rate of Decline (MMRD) relation of galactic novae, we used the distances of them obtained from the reddening-distance relations and expansion parallaxes. We investigated the relation using about 70 Galactic novae, which have the distance measurement, the magnitude at maximum of the nova outburst and the decline rate, and compared the relation with that found for M31. It is possible to use the MMRD relation as a standard tool for distance measurement. In addition, the relations for our Galaxy and the ones obtained from other galaxies can be compared to understand the differences of nova distributions in different galaxies.

The mixing layer height (MLH) is a crucial parameter in order to investigate the near surface concentrations of air pollutants. The MLH can be estimated by measurements of some atmospheric variables, by indirect estimates based on trace gases concentration or aerosol, or by numerical models. Here, a modelling approach is proposed. The developed modelling system is based on the models WRF-ARW and CALMET. This system is applied on Firenze-Prato-Pistoia area (Central Italy), during 2010, and it is compared with in situ measurements. The aim of this work is to evaluate the use of MLH model estimates to characterize the critical episodes for PM10 in a limited area. In order to find out the meteorological conditions predisposing accumulation of PM10 in the atmosphere's lower level, some indicators are used: daily mean wind speed, cumulated rainfall, and mean MLH estimates from CALMET model. This indicator is linked to orography, which has important consequences on local weather dynamics. However, during critical events the local emission sources are crucial to the determination of threshold exceeding of PM10. Results show that the modelled MLH, together with cumulative rainfall and wind speed, can identify the meteorological conditions predisposing accumulation of air pollutant at ground level. PMID:26618190

... Estimating Methodologies for Broiler Animal Feeding Operations and Lagoons and Basins for Swine and Dairy... Methodologies for Lagoons and Basins at Swine and Dairy Animal Feeding Operations.'' These documents contain EPA... chicken animal feeding operation and from a lagoon or basin located at a swine or dairy animal...

The mixing layer height (MLH) is a crucial parameter in order to investigate the near surface concentrations of air pollutants. The MLH can be estimated by measurements of some atmospheric variables, by indirect estimates based on trace gases concentration or aerosol, or by numerical models. Here, a modelling approach is proposed. The developed modelling system is based on the models WRF-ARW and CALMET. This system is applied on Firenze-Prato-Pistoia area (Central Italy), during 2010, and it is compared with in situ measurements. The aim of this work is to evaluate the use of MLH model estimates to characterize the critical episodes for PM10 in a limited area. In order to find out the meteorological conditions predisposing accumulation of PM10 in the atmosphere's lower level, some indicators are used: daily mean wind speed, cumulated rainfall, and mean MLH estimates from CALMET model. This indicator is linked to orography, which has important consequences on local weather dynamics. However, during critical events the local emission sources are crucial to the determination of threshold exceeding of PM10. Results show that the modelled MLH, together with cumulative rainfall and wind speed, can identify the meteorological conditions predisposing accumulation of air pollutant at ground level. PMID:26618190

In experimental time estimation research, it has consistently been found that the more a person is engaged in some kind of demanding cognitive activity within a given period of time, the more experienced duration of this time interval decreases. However, the role of individual differences has been largely ignored in this field of research. In a…

Atherosclerotic plaque rupture can initiate stroke or myocardial infarction. Lipid-rich plaques with thin fibrous caps have a higher risk to rupture than fibrotic plaques. Elastic moduli differ for lipid-rich and fibrous tissue and can be reconstructed using tissue displacements estimated from intravascular ultrasound radiofrequency (RF) data acquisitions. This study investigated if modulus reconstruction is possible for noninvasive RF acquisitions of vessels in transverse imaging planes using an iterative 2D cross-correlation based displacement estimation algorithm. Furthermore, since it is known that displacements can be improved by compounding of displacements estimated at various beam steering angles, we compared the performance of the modulus reconstruction with and without compounding. For the comparison, simulated and experimental RF data were generated of various vessel-mimicking phantoms. Reconstruction errors were less than 10%, which seems adequate for distinguishing lipid-rich from fibrous tissue. Compounding outperformed single-angle reconstruction: the interquartile range of the reconstructed moduli for the various homogeneous phantom layers was approximately two times smaller. Additionally, the estimated lateral displacements were a factor of 2-3 better matched to the displacements corresponding to the reconstructed modulus distribution. Thus, noninvasive elastic modulus reconstruction is possible for transverse vessel cross sections using this cross-correlation method and is more accurate with compounding. PMID:23478602

Atherosclerotic plaque rupture can initiate stroke or myocardial infarction. Lipid-rich plaques with thin fibrous caps have a higher risk to rupture than fibrotic plaques. Elastic moduli differ for lipid-rich and fibrous tissue and can be reconstructed using tissue displacements estimated from intravascular ultrasound radiofrequency (RF) data acquisitions. This study investigated if modulus reconstruction is possible for noninvasive RF acquisitions of vessels in transverse imaging planes using an iterative 2D cross-correlation based displacement estimation algorithm. Furthermore, since it is known that displacements can be improved by compounding of displacements estimated at various beam steering angles, we compared the performance of the modulus reconstruction with and without compounding. For the comparison, simulated and experimental RF data were generated of various vessel-mimicking phantoms. Reconstruction errors were less than 10%, which seems adequate for distinguishing lipid-rich from fibrous tissue. Compounding outperformed single-angle reconstruction: the interquartile range of the reconstructed moduli for the various homogeneous phantom layers was approximately two times smaller. Additionally, the estimated lateral displacements were a factor of 2–3 better matched to the displacements corresponding to the reconstructed modulus distribution. Thus, noninvasive elastic modulus reconstruction is possible for transverse vessel cross sections using this cross-correlation method and is more accurate with compounding. PMID:23478602

Nutrient enrichment of the coastal zone places intense pressure on marine communities. Previous studies have shown that growth of intertidal mangrove forests is accelerated with enhanced nutrient availability. However, nutrient enrichment favours growth of shoots relative to roots, thus enhancing growth rates but increasing vulnerability to environmental stresses that adversely affect plant water relations. Two such stresses are high salinity and low humidity, both of which require greater investment in roots to meet the demands for water by the shoots. Here we present data from a global network of sites that documents enhanced mortality of mangroves with experimental nutrient enrichment at sites where high sediment salinity was coincident with low rainfall and low humidity. Thus the benefits of increased mangrove growth in response to coastal eutrophication is offset by the costs of decreased resilience due to mortality during drought, with mortality increasing with soil water salinity along climatic gradients. PMID:19440554

The Nutrient Control Design Manual will present an extensive state-of-the-technology review of the engineering design and operation of nitrogen and phosphorous control technologies and techniques applied at municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). This manual will present ...

These Nutrient Control Seminars will present an extensive state-of-the-technology review of the engineering design and operation of nitrogen and phosphorous control technologies and techniques applied at municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). These seminars will present ...

Resolving the physiological mechanisms by which rhizobacteria enhance plant growth is difficult, since many such bacteria contain multiple plant growth-promoting properties. To understand further how the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase (ACCd)-containing rhizobacterium Variovorax paradoxus 5C-2 affects plant growth, the flows and partitioning of mineral nutrients and abscisic acid (ABA) and ABA metabolism were studied in pea (Pisum sativum) plants following rhizosphere bacterial inoculation. Although root architecture was not affected, inoculation increased root and shoot biomass, and stomatal conductance, by 20, 15, and 24%, respectively, and increased N, P, K, Ca, and Mg uptake by 16, 81, 50, 46, and 58%, respectively. P deposition in inoculated plant roots was 4.9 times higher than that in uninoculated controls. Rhizobacterial inoculation increased root to shoot xylem flows and shoot to root phloem flows of K by 1.8- and 2.1-fold, respectively. In control plants, major sinks for K deposition were the roots and upper shoot (43% and 49% of total uptake, respectively), while rhizobacterial inoculation increased K distribution to the lower shoot at the expense of other compartments (xylem, phloem, and upper shoot). Despite being unable to metabolize ABA in vitro, V. paradoxus 5C-2 decreased root ABA concentrations and accumulation by 40–60%. Although inoculation decreased xylem ABA flows, phloem ABA flows increased. Whether bacterial ACCd attenuates root to shoot ABA signalling requires further investigation, since ABA is critical to maintain growth of droughted plants, and ACCd-containing organisms have been advocated as a means of minimizing growth inhibition of plants in drying soil. PMID:23136167

The state of health (SOH) estimation is very critical to battery management system to ensure the safety and reliability of EV battery operation. Here, we used a unique hybrid approach to enable complex SOH estimations. The approach hybridizes the Delphi method known for its simplicity and effectiveness in applying weighting factors for complicated decision-making and the grey relational grade analysis (GRGA) for multi-factor optimization. Six critical factors were used in the consideration for SOH estimation: peak power at 30% state-of-charge (SOC), capacity, the voltage drop at 30% SOC with a C/3 pulse, the temperature rises at the end of discharge and charge at 1C; respectively, and the open circuit voltage at the end of charge after 1-h rest. The weighting of these factors for SOH estimation was scored by the 'experts' in the Delphi method, indicating the influencing power of each factor on SOH. The parameters for these factors expressing the battery state variations are optimized by GRGA. Eight battery cells were used to illustrate the principle and methodology to estimate the SOH by this hybrid approach, and the results were compared with those based on capacity and power capability. The contrast among different SOH estimations is discussed.

Based on comprehensive observations since 1983, this study summarizes major features of nutrient elements (nitrogen, phosphorus and silicon) in large Chinese river/estuary systems. Elevated nutrient element levels were observed in Chinese rivers, when compared to large and less disturbed aquatic systems (e.g. the Amazon, Zaire and Orinoco). Data from this study are similar to those obtained from the polluted and/or eutrophic rivers in Europe and North America (e.g. the Rhóne and Loire). Nutrient elements may have either conservative or active distributions, or both, in the mixing zone, depending on the element and the estuary. For example, non-conservative behaviors were observed in the upper estuary, where nutrient elements may be remobilized due to the strong desorption and variations of the fresh water end-member, but conservative distributions were found afterwards in the lower estuary. Outside the riverine effluent plumes, nutrient elements may be depleted in surface waters relative to elevated bioproduction, whereas the regeneration with respect to decomposition of organic material and/or nitrification/denitrification offshore, may sustain high levels of nutrient elements in near-bottom waters. Laboratory experiment data generally compares well with field observations. The high fluxes and area] yields of nutrient elements from large Chinese rivers, indicate the extensive use of chemical fertilizers and domestic waste drainage over watersheds in China.

National nutrient databases rely, in part, on the generation of original analytical data to estimatenutrient values for commonly consumed foods. The generation of representative analytical values for nutritional components requires the development of a sampling plan which includes both the demograp...

The lack of kinetic data concerning the biological effects of reactive oxygen species is slowing down the development of the field of redox signaling. Herein, we deduced and applied equations to estimate kinetic parameters from typical redox signaling experiments. H2O2-sensing mediated by the oxidation of a protein target and the switch-off of this sensor, by being converted back to its reduced form, are the two processes for which kinetic parameters are determined. The experimental data required to apply the equations deduced is the fraction of the H2O2 sensor protein in the reduced or in the oxidized state measured in intact cells or living tissues after exposure to either endogenous or added H2O2. Either non-linear fittings that do not need transformation of the experimental data or linearized plots in which deviations from the equations are easily observed can be used. The equations were shown to be valid by fitting to them virtual time courses simulated with a kinetic model. The good agreement between the kinetic parameters estimated in these fittings and those used to simulate the virtual time courses supported the accuracy of the kinetic equations deduced. Finally, equations were successfully tested with real data taken from published experiments that describe redox signaling mediated by the oxidation of two protein tyrosine phosphatases, PTP1B and SHP-2, which are two of the few H2O2-sensing proteins with known kinetic parameters. Whereas for PTP1B estimated kinetic parameters fitted in general the present knowledge, for SHP-2 results obtained suggest that reactivity toward H2O2 as well as the rate of SHP-2 regeneration back to its reduced form are higher than previously thought. In conclusion, valuable quantitative kinetic data can be estimated from typical redox signaling experiments, thus improving our understanding about the complex processes that underlie the interplay between oxidative stress and redox signaling responses. PMID:25325054

Brain state decoding or “mind reading” via multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) has become a popular focus of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. In brain decoding, stimulus presentation rate is increased as fast as possible to collect many training samples and obtain an effective and reliable classifier or computational model. However, for extremely rapid event-related experiments, the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signals evoked by adjacent trials are heavily overlapped in the time domain. Thus, identifying trial-specific BOLD responses is difficult. In addition, voxel-specific hemodynamic response function (HRF), which is useful in MVPA, should be used in estimation to decrease the loss of weak information across voxels and obtain fine-grained spatial information. Regularization methods have been widely used to increase the efficiency of HRF estimates. In this study, we propose a regularization framework called mixed L2 norm regularization. This framework involves Tikhonov regularization and an additional L2 norm regularization term to calculate reliable HRF estimates. This technique improves the accuracy of HRF estimates and significantly increases the classification accuracy of the brain decoding task when applied to a rapid event-related four-category object classification experiment. At last, some essential issues such as the impact of low-frequency fluctuation (LFF) and the influence of smoothing are discussed for rapid event-related experiments. PMID:23762193

This paper details the post-flight navigation performance assessment of the Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1). Results of each flight phase are presented: Ground Align, Ascent, Orbit, and Entry Descent and Landing. This study examines the on-board Kalman Filter uncertainty along with state deviations relative to the Best Estimated Trajectory (BET). Overall the results show that the Orion Navigation System performed as well or better than expected. Specifically, the Global Positioning System (GPS) measurement availability was significantly better than anticipated at high altitudes. In addition, attitude estimation via processing GPS measurements along with Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) data performed very well and maintained good attitude throughout the mission.

Despite randomization, selection bias may occur in cluster randomized trials. Classical multivariable regression usually allows for adjusting treatment effect estimates with unbalanced covariates. However, for binary outcomes with low incidence, such a method may fail because of separation problems. This simulation study focused on the performance of propensity score (PS)-based methods to estimaterelative risks from cluster randomized trials with binary outcomes with low incidence. The results suggested that among the different approaches used (multivariable regression, direct adjustment on PS, inverse weighting on PS, and stratification on PS), only direct adjustment on the PS fully corrected the bias and moreover had the best statistical properties. PMID:24771662

China is one of the most important halocarbons emitters in the world. However, differences exist in the compiled national emissions inventories (bottom-up) with those derived from ambient measurements (top-down). In this study, CO and 15 halocarbon species including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), CCl4, CH3CCl3 and other halogenated solvents were measured in 47 cities and using aircraft over Shandong Peninsula during 2010-2011 for China. Halocarbon species with concentrations 20% higher than that of global background levels were considered to have their local emissions; these species were chosen for developing emissions estimates using tracer ratios method. Three tracers namely CO, HCFC-22 and benzene were used to examine correlations with halocarbons in this work; HCFC-22 combined with benzene as multi-tracers showed better correlations than CO did. Halocarbon emissions were estimated using tracer emission multiplied by Halo/Tracer obtained from measured data. The calculated results revealed that HCFC-22 emission based on CO tracer was the largest ozone depletion substance (ODS) at 129.3 Gg/year; Solvent halocarbon species such as CH3Cl, CHCl3, CH2Cl2, C2HCl3, C2Cl4, etc., mainly used as solvents but not under control accounted for 79% in total halocarbon emissions. Comparisons of the tracer ratio emission estimates have been made with other emissions inventories. Results from this study showed our emission estimates for CFC-11 and CFC-12 were 80%˜85% and 120%˜430% of emission inventories respectively. Also the recently phased-out species of CCl4 and CH3CCl3 were 586%-1173% and 330%-660% of the emission inventories respectively. The estimated emissions from the different studies for China during 2000-2010 were summarized. It was shown that HCFC-22 increased by 49.1% accompanied with CFC-12 decreasing by 48.9% during 2007-2010 and a significant decrease trend in CH3CCl3 emission which dropped from 6.5 Gg/year in 2001 to 2.1 Gg

Cocrystals (or multicomponent crystals) have physico-chemical properties that are different from crystals of pure components. This is significant in drug development, since the desired properties, e.g. solubility, stability and bioavailability, can be tailored by binding two substances into a single crystal without chemical modification of an active component. Here, the FLEXCRYST program suite, implemented with a data mining force field, was used to estimate the relative stability and, consequently, the relative solubility of cocrystals of flavonoids vs their pure crystals, stored in the Cambridge Structural Database. The considerable potency of this approach for in silico screening of cocrystals, as well as their relative solubility, was demonstrated.

This is the second report on the UC/CLC Campus Earthquake Program (CEP), concerning the estimation of exposure of the U.C. Santa Barbara campus to strong earthquake motions (Phase 2 study). The main results of Phase 1 are summarized in the current report. This document describes the studies which resulted in site-specific strong motion estimates for the Engineering I site, and discusses the potential impact of these motions on the building. The main elements of Phase 2 are: (1) determining that a M 6.8 earthquake on the North Channel-Pitas Point (NCPP) fault is the largest threat to the campus. Its recurrence interval is estimated at 350 to 525 years; (2) recording earthquakes from that fault on March 23, 1998 (M 3.2) and May 14, 1999 (M 3.2) at the new UCSB seismic station; (3) using these recordings as empirical Green's functions (EGF) in scenario earthquake simulations which provided strong motion estimates (seismic syntheses) at a depth of 74 m under the Engineering I site; 240 such simulations were performed, each with the same seismic moment, but giving a broad range of motions that were analyzed for their mean and standard deviation; (4) laboratory testing, at U.C. Berkeley and U.C. Los Angeles, of soil samples obtained from drilling at the UCSB station site, to determine their response to earthquake-type loading; (5) performing nonlinear soil dynamic calculations, using the soil properties determined in-situ and in the laboratory, to calculate the surface strong motions resulting from the seismic syntheses at depth; (6) comparing these CEP-generated strong motion estimates to acceleration spectra based on the application of state-of-practice methods - the IBC 2000 code, UBC 97 code and Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis (PSHA), this comparison will be used to formulate design-basis spectra for future buildings and retrofits at UCSB; and (7) comparing the response of the Engineering I building to the CEP ground motion estimates and to the design

to prior studies of the other three NOAA-managed reference marshes in the Hudson Valley. The data supplements carbon content data (presented in a companion poster) to estimate the carbon cycling and sequestration capacity of the Marsh sediments. Nutrient data is being collected as one component of a broad ecological and geochemical study of the Marsh and its adaptation to human influence (see companion posters on carbon cycling and habitat utilization in the Marsh). All data were collected and analyzed as part of Lamont-Doherty Secondary School Field Research Program, which engages NYC high school teachers and students in research in the Hudson/Raritan estuarine environment.

Animals translocate nutrients by consuming nutrients at one point and excreting them or dying at another location. Such lateral fluxes may be an important mechanism of nutrient supply in many ecosystems, but lack quantification and a systematic theoretical framework for their evaluation. This paper presents a mathematical framework for quantifying such fluxes in the context of mammalian herbivores. We develop an expression for lateral diffusion of a nutrient, where the diffusivity is a biologically determined parameter depending on the characteristics of mammals occupying the domain, including size-dependent phenomena such as day range, metabolic demand, food passage time, and population size. Three findings stand out: (a) Scaling law-derived estimates of diffusion parameters are comparable to estimates calculated from estimates of each coefficient gathered from primary literature. (b) The diffusion term due to transport of nutrients in dung is orders of magnitude large than the coefficient representing nutrients in bodymass. (c) The scaling coefficients show that large herbivores make a disproportionate contribution to lateral nutrient transfer. We apply the diffusion equation to a case study of Kruger National Park to estimate the conditions under which mammal-driven nutrient transport is comparable in magnitude to other (abiotic) nutrient fluxes (inputs and losses). Finally, a global analysis of mammalian herbivore transport is presented, using a comprehensive database of contemporary animal distributions. We show that continents vary greatly in terms of the importance of animal-driven nutrient fluxes, and also that perturbations to nutrient cycles are potentially quite large if threatened large herbivores are driven to extinction. PMID:23951141

Runx2 is the master switch controlling osteoblast differentiation and formation of the mineralized skeleton. The post-translational modification of Runx2 by phosphorylation, ubiquitinylation, and acetylation modulates its activity, stability, and interactions with transcriptional co-regulators and chromatin remodeling proteins downstream of osteogenic signals. Characterization of Runx2 by electron transfer dissociation tandem mass spectrometry revealed sites of O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) modification, a nutrient-responsive post-translational modification that modulates the action of numerous transcriptional effectors. O-GlcNAc modification occurs in close proximity to phosphorylated residues and novel sites of arginine methylation within regions known to regulate Runx2 transactivation. An interaction between Runx2 and the O-GlcNAcylated, O-GlcNAc transferase enzyme was also detected. Pharmacological inhibition of O-GlcNAcase (OGA), the enzyme responsible for the removal of O-GlcNAc from Ser/Thr residues, enhanced basal (39.9%) and BMP2/7-induced (43.3%) Runx2 transcriptional activity in MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts. In bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells differentiated for 6 days in osteogenic media, inhibition of OGA resulted in elevated expression (24.3%) and activity (65.8%) of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) an early marker of bone formation and a transcriptional target of Runx2. Osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in the presence of BMP2/7 for 8 days culminated in decreased OGA activity (39.0%) and an increase in the abundance of O-GlcNAcylated Runx2, as compared with unstimulated cells. Furthermore, BMP2/7-induced ALP activity was enhanced by 35.6% in bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells differentiated in the presence of the OGA inhibitor, demonstrating that direct or BMP2/7-induced inhibition of OGA is associated with increased ALP activity. Altogether, these findings link O-GlcNAc cycling to the Runx2

For organisms to coordinate their growth and development with nutrient availability they must be able to sense nutrient levels in their environment. Here, we review select nutrient sensing mechanisms in a few diverse organisms. We discuss how these mechanisms reflect the nutrient requirements of specific species and how they have adapted to the emergence of multicellularity in eukaryotes. PMID:25815986

Laser data from the Greenbelt, Bermuda, and Grand Turk Island tec tracking stations, and from observation at Patrick Air Force Base were used in an experiment to determine precise inter-station baselines and relative heights in short orbital arcs of no more than 12 minutes duration. The relative locations obtained are sensitive to reasonable variations in the gravity field to less than 15 cm in inter-station baseline and less than 35 cm in relative height. The formal standard deviations for range measurements at the observed 7 cm noise level are less than 10 cm for either baseline or relative height determinations from the twenty-arc combination solution. The method of data analysis is described, the baseline and relative height results are presented, and gravity model dependence is considered.

The authors present smoothed perturbation analysis (SPA) estimators for the derivative of a number of occupancy-related functions in serial queuing networks with finite buffer spaces. The functions are the average number of customers at a network as seen by an arrival, the probability that a customer is blocked at a particular queue, and the probability that a customer leaves a queue empty. In all three cases, the variable is a parameter of the distribution of service times at one of the queues. The derivative estimators considered are very simple and flexible, and they easily lend themselves to analysis of unbiasedness. Unlike most of the established SPA estimators, the present ones are not based on the computation of hazard rates.

For mapping nonlinked interacting genes relative to marker loci, the recombination fractions can be calculated by using the log-likelihood functions were derived that permit estimation of recombinant fractions by solving the ML equations on the basis of F2 data at various types of interaction. In some cases, the recombinant fraction estimates are obtained in the analytical form while in others they are numerically calculated from concrete experimental data. With the same type of epistasis the log-functions were shown to differ depending on the functional role (suppression or epistasis) of the mapped gene. Methods for testing the correspondence of the model and the recombination fraction estimates to the experimental data are discussed. In ambiguous cases, analysis of the linked marker behavior makes it possible to differentiate gene interaction from distorted single-locus segregation, which at some forms of interaction imitate phenotypic ratios. PMID:12068553

Lack of standard methods for quantifying impact has hindered risk assessments of high-impact invaders. To understand methodological strengths and weaknesses, we compared five approaches (in parentheses) for quantifying impact of nonnative fishes: reviewing documented impacts in a large-scale database (review); surveying fish biologists regarding three categories of impact (socioeconomic, ecological, abundance); and estimating frequency of occurrence from existing collection records (collection). In addition, we compared game and nongame biologists' ratings of game and nongame species. Although mean species ratings were generally correlated among approaches, we documented important discrepancies. The review approach required little effort but often inaccurately estimated impact in our study region (Mid-Atlantic United States). Game fishes received lower ratings from the socioeconomic approach, which yielded the greatest consistency among respondents. The ecological approach exhibited lower respondent bias but was sensitive to pre-existing perceptions of high-impact invaders. The abundance approach provided the least-biased assessment of region-specific impact but did not account for differences in per-capita effects among species. The collection approach required the most effort and did not provide reliable estimates of impact. Multiple approaches to assessing a species' impact are instructive, but impact ratings must be interpreted in the context of methodological strengths and weaknesses and key management issues. A combination of our ecological and abundance approaches may be most appropriate for assessing ecological impact, whereas our socioeconomic approach is more useful for understanding social dimensions. These approaches are readily transferrable to other regions and taxa; if refined, they can help standardize the assessment of impacts of nonnative species.

Lack of standard methods for quantifying impact has hindered risk assessments of high-impact invaders. To understand methodological strengths and weaknesses, we compared five approaches (in parentheses) for quantifying impact of nonnative fishes: reviewing documented impacts in a large-scale database (review); surveying fish biologists regarding three categories of impact (socioeconomic, ecological, abundance); and estimating frequency of occurrence from existing collection records (collection). In addition, we compared game and nongame biologists’ ratings of game and nongame species. Although mean species ratings were generally correlated among approaches, we documented important discrepancies. The review approach required little effort but often inaccurately estimated impact in our study region (Mid-Atlantic United States). Game fishes received lower ratings from the socioeconomic approach, which yielded the greatest consistency among respondents. The ecological approach exhibited lower respondent bias but was sensitive to pre-existing perceptions of high-impact invaders. The abundance approach provided the least-biased assessment of region-specific impact but did not account for differences in per-capita effects among species. The collection approach required the most effort and did not provide reliable estimates of impact. Multiple approaches to assessing a species’ impact are instructive, but impact ratings must be interpreted in the context of methodological strengths and weaknesses and key management issues. A combination of our ecological and abundance approaches may be most appropriate for assessing ecological impact, whereas our socioeconomic approach is more useful for understanding social dimensions. These approaches are readily transferrable to other regions and taxa; if refined, they can help standardize the assessment of impacts of nonnative species.

NY region is expected to grow by additional 1 million people by 2020, which translates into roughly 70 million more tons of goods to be delivered annually. Due to lack of rail capacity, mainly trucks will haul this volume of freight, challenging an already much constrained highway network. What are the total costs associated with this additional traffic, in particular, congestion, safety and emission? Since a major source of this expected flow is the Port of New York-New Jersey, this paper focuses on the estimation of the full marginal costs of truck traffic resulting from the further expansion of the port's activities. PMID:19796817

Call surveys used to monitor breeding choruses of anuran amphibians generate index values that are frequently used to represent the number of male frogs present, but few studies have quantified this relationship. We compared abundance of male Boreal Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris maculata), estimated using capture–recapture methods in two populations in Colorado, to call index values derived from automated recordings. Single index values, such as might result from large monitoring efforts, were unrelated to population size. A synthetic call saturation index (CSI), the daily proportion of the maximum possible sum of index values derived from multiple recordings, was greater in larger populations, but the relationship was not highly predictive.

Large-scale thermal forcing and freshwater fluxes play an essential role in setting the ocean's temperature and salinity. The ratio of the relative contributions of haline and thermal forcing in the mixed layer is maintained by large-scale surface fluxes, leading to important consequences for mixing in the ocean interior. In a stratified ocean, mixing processes can be either isopycnal or diapycnal. The contribution of these processes to the total mixing rate in the ocean can be estimated from the large-scale forcing by evaluating the production of thermal variance, salinity variance and temperature-salinity covariance. A number of surface heat- and freshwater flux estimates are used to evaluate these terms and combine them to generate estimates of the production of density and spice variance. This variance production at the surface is used to estimate the relative importance of isopycnal and diapycnal mixing in the ocean. While isopycnal and diapycnal processes occur on very different length scales, we find that surface-driven production of density and spice variance requires an approximate equipartition between isopycnal and diapycnal mixing in the ocean interior. Here, dissipation estimates are produced using time-mean, monthly and daily flux estimates and surface variables, including Aquarius SSS and Optimum Interpolation SST to elucidate the importance of seasonal and daily forcing. While the inclusion of high-frequency variability increases the total dissipation required, it is likely that much of the resulting variance production is dissipated locally. The increase in diapycnal dissipation is greater than that of isopycnal dissipation, suggesting that more diapycnal dissipation occurs on short space- and time scales.

be caused by the highly variable relation between water stage and river discharge revealed by the measured water velocities and not captured by the hydrological model. The analysis of sediment and nutrients in the two different water depths show a stratification during the different flow conditions, likely due to the the complex flow structures developed by tide and backwater. A comparison with the model estimates of nutrient fluxes will be performed, to investigate if the stratification observed plays a significant role for the validation results.

The estimation of the time of exposure of a picture portraying an action increases as a function of the amount of movement implied in the action represented. This effect suggests that the perceiver creates an internal embodiment of the action observed as if internally simulating the entire movement sequence. Little is known however about the timing accuracy of these internal action simulations, specifically whether they are affected by the level of familiarity and experience that the observer has of the action. In this study we asked professional pianists to reproduce different durations of exposure (shorter or longer than one second) of visual displays both specific (a hand in piano-playing action) and non-specific to their domain of expertise (a hand in finger-thumb opposition and scrambled-pixels) and compared their performance with non-pianists. Pianists outperformed non-pianists independently of the time of exposure of the stimuli; remarkably the group difference was particularly magnified by the pianists' enhanced accuracy and stability only when observing the hand in the act of playing the piano. These results for the first time provide evidence that through musical training, pianists create a selective and self-determined dynamic internal representation of an observed movement that allows them to estimate precisely its temporal duration. PMID:23405131

Many contaminants are recalcitrant against degradation. Therefore, when primary sources have been discontinued, contaminated sediments often function as important secondary pollution sources. Since the management and potential remediation of contaminated marine sediments may be very costly, it is important that the environmental risks of contaminants present in these sediments and benefits of remediation are evaluated as accurately as possible. The objective of this study was to evaluate the bioavailability of common organochlorine contaminants and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in selected polluted sediments from Norway by simple generic sorption models (free energy relationships), as well as by pore water concentration measurements. Furthermore, the aim was to predict bioaccumulation from these bioavailability estimates for comparison with in vivo bioaccumulation assessments using ragworm (Nereis virens) and netted dogwhelk (Hinia reticulata). Predicted biota-to-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) derived from pore water concentration estimates were in better agreement with the bioaccumulation observed in the test organisms, than the generic BSAFs expected based on linear sorption models. The results therefore support that site-specific evaluations of bioaccumulation provide useful information for more accurate risk assessments. A need for increased knowledge of the specific characteristics of benthic organisms, which may influence the exposure, uptake and elimination of contaminants, is however emphasized. PMID:23178838

In standard within-subject analyses of event-related fMRI data, two steps are usually performed separately: detection of brain activity and estimation of the hemodynamic response. Because these two steps are inherently linked, we adopt the so-called region-based Joint Detection-Estimation (JDE) framework that addresses this joint issue using a multivariate inference for detection and estimation. JDE is built by making use of a regional bilinear generative model of the BOLD response and constraining the parameter estimation by physiological priors using temporal and spatial information in a Markovian model. In contrast to previous works that use Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques to sample the resulting intractable posterior distribution, we recast the JDE into a missing data framework and derive a Variational Expectation-Maximization (VEM) algorithm for its inference. A variational approximation is used to approximate the Markovian model in the unsupervised spatially adaptive JDE inference, which allows automatic fine-tuning of spatial regularization parameters. It provides a new algorithm that exhibits interesting properties in terms of estimation error and computational cost compared to the previously used MCMC-based approach. Experiments on artificial and real data show that VEM-JDE is robust to model mis-specification and provides computational gain while maintaining good performance in terms of activation detection and hemodynamic shape recovery. PMID:23096056

Most cities, especially from the developing countries, are facing serious problems with the management of nutrients, necessitating an urgent review of current waste management systems. Whilst highly efficient technologies are available, the inclusion of these in a well-thought out and systematic approach is necessary to contain the nutrient influxes and outfluxes from towns. Five intervention measures are proposed in this paper. The first is to manage the use and generation of nutrients by drastically minimising water consumption and employing other cleaner production approaches. The second deals with the optimal reuse of nutrients and water at the smallest possible level, like at the household and on-plot level. The second option is to covert the waste into something useful for reuse, and, where not possible, to something which is envi- ronmentally neutral. This involves treatment, but applying technologies that makes the best use of side products via reuse. Where the first three options will have failed, two least preferred options could be used. Waste can be dispersed or diluted to enhance self-purification capacities of downstream water bodies. The last option is to store the wastewater for some parts of the year when there is water shortage to allow for polishing during the standing period. The success of urban nutrient planning requires an integrated approach, proving specific solutions to specific situations. This, in turn, requires appropriate institutional responses.

Background: The Agricultural Health Study (AHS) is a prospective study of licensed pesticide applicators (largely fanners) and their spouses in Iowa and North Carolina. We evaluate the impact of occupational pesticide exposure misclassification on relative risks using data from t...

We consider scalar nonviscous conservation laws with strictly convex flux in one spatial dimension, and we investigate the behavior of bounded L 2 perturbations of shock wave solutions to the Riemann problem using the relative entropy method. We show that up to a time-dependent translation of the shock, the L 2 norm of a perturbed solution relative to the shock wave is bounded above by the L 2 norm of the initial perturbation.

Nutrient recycling by animals is a potentially important biogeochemical process in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Stoichiometric traits of individual species may result in some taxa playing disproportionately important roles in the recycling of nutrientsrelative to their biomass, acting as keystone nutrient recyclers. We examined factors controlling the relative contribution of 12 Neotropical fish species to nutrient recycling in four streams spanning a range of phosphorus (P) levels. In high-P conditions (135 ??g/L soluble reactive phosphorus, SRP), most species fed on P-enriched diets and P excretion rates were high across species. In low-P conditions (3 ??g/L SRP), aquatic food resources were depleted in P, and species with higher body P content showed low rates of P recycling. However, fishes that were subsidized by terrestrial inputs were decoupled from aquatic P availability and therefore excreted P at disproportionately high rates. One of these species, Astyanax aeneus (Characidae), represented 12% of the total population and 18% of the total biomass of the fish assemblage in our focal low-P study stream but had P excretion rates >10-fold higher than other abundant fishes. As a result, we estimated that P excretion by A. aeneus accounted for 90% of the P recycled by this fish assemblage and also supplied ???90% of the stream P demand in this P-limited ecosystem. Nitrogen excretion rates showed little variation among species, and the contribution of a given species to ecosystem N recycling was largely dependent upon the total biomass of that species. Because of the high variability in P excretion rates among fish species, ecosystem-level P recycling could be particularly sensitive to changes in fish community structure in P-limited systems. ?? 2011 by the Ecological Society of America.

Uncertainty in the rating-curve model of the stage-discharge relationship leads to uncertainty in discharge time series. These uncertainties in turn affect many other analyses based on discharge data, such as nutrient load estimations. It is important to understand how large the impact of discharge data uncertainty is on such analyses, since they are often used as the basis to take important environmental management decisions. In the Baltic Sea basin, nutrient load estimates from river mouths are a central information basis for managing and reducing eutrophication in the Baltic Sea. In this study we investigated rating curve uncertainty and its propagation to discharge data uncertainty and thereafter to uncertainty in the load of phosphorous and nitrogen for twelve Swedish river mouths. We estimated rating curve uncertainty using the Voting Point method, which accounts for random and epistemic errors in the stage-discharge relation and allows drawing multiple rating-curve realisations consistent with the total uncertainty. We sampled 40,000 rating curves, and for each sampled curve we calculated a discharge time series from 15-minute water level data for the period 2005-2014. Each discharge time series was then aggregated to daily scale and used to calculate the load of phosphorous and nitrogen from linearly interpolated monthly water samples, following the currently used methodology for load estimation. Finally the yearly load estim